Introduction to cs

COMPUTER-electronic device processing information only by programs electronic device

that can receive a set of instructions of programs and then carry out
COMPUTER CATEGORY-Computers have been divided into four categories, based on their
function physical size, cost and performance
MINICOMPUTERS-are somewhat larger than microcomputers and are generally used in
business and industry for specific tasks
MICROCOMPUTERS-also known as personal computers or PCs are the computers you
typically find home and business
MAINFRAMES-are large , fast and fairly expensive computers generally used by business or
government to provide centralized storage processing and management for large amauntsof
data
SUPERCOMPUTERS-are the largest, fastest and most expensive type of computers. Unlike
minicomputers and mainframes supercomputers are not designed to optimize processing for
multiple users
WORD PROCESSORS-are computers that mainly type , edit and print letters and other
documents
COMPUTER FAMILY-a term commonly used to indicate a group of computers that are built
around the same microprocessor or around a series of related microprocessors and that
share significant design features. There`re 2 computer families in Azerbaijan:
1) Apple Macintosh 2) IBM PCs
Computer Generation-a category that distinguishes products such as computers or
programming languages according to the technological advances they respect. Differences:
1) ELEMENT BAZASI 2) ARXITEKTURA 3) ISTIFADE QAYDASI
VACUUM TUBE-a set of metal electrodes and intervening metal grids,contained in a glass
or metal tube from which all gas has been removed. Voltages on the grids control electrical
currents between the electrodes
RESISTOR-a circuit component designed to provide a specific amount of resistance to
current flow
TRANSISTOR-a small electronic component that can alter a signal in a predefined ways. It is
the basis of the second generation computers
SEMICONDUCTOR-a substance commonly silicon or germanium whose ability to conduct
electricity falls between that of a conductor and that of a nonconductor
TYPES OF COMPUTERS-there`re two fundamentally different types of computers:
1)ANALOG 2)DIGITAL
SYSTEM-any collection of component elements that work together to perform a task
HARDWARE-is any part of computer system we can see and touch
1) a central processing unit (CPU)
2) Input devices
3) Memory storage devices
 4) Output devices
5) Communications network, called BUS
A COMPUTER CASE-contains all major components of a computer system
DESKTOP CASE-usually sits on a desk, under a monitor
TOWER CASE-usually sits on the floor. This provides more desk space but can be less
convenient
for inserting and removing floppy disks and CD-ROM discs
PORTABLE-is a small, lightweight computer that we can easily transport. A portable has
built-in keyboard and screen
POWER SUPPLY-it changes the household electricity into electricity that a computer can
use
HARD DRIVE-is the primary device that a computer uses to store information
EXPANSION CARD-it lets us add new features to a computer. For example it can give a
computer
ability to record and sound
EXPANSION SLOT-it is a socket on the motherboard. EXPANSION CARD plug into an
EXPANSION SLOT
MOTHERBOARD-is the main circuit board of a computer. All electrical components plug into
the
motherboard

FLOPPY DRIVE-stores and retrieves information on floppy disc

DRIVE BAY-is a space inside the computer case where a hard drive, floppy drive or CD-
ROM drive Sits
CD-ROM DRIVE-reads information stores on compact discs (CDs)
RAM=Random Access Memory-temporarily stores information inside a computer. This
information is lost when you turn-off the computer
CPU=Central Processing Unit-is the main chip in a computer. CPU processes instruction,
perform
calculations and manages the flow of information through a computer
KEYBOARD-is e device that lets us type information and instructions into a computer
ENTER KEY-is often used to instruct the computer to accept the instructions that have just
been
entered into the computer
BACKSPACE-it can be used to move the character one position to the right
TAB-can be used to set tab stop, to set up columns, indent paragraphs and sentences and
arrange the format of a document page
SHIFT-pressing it changes characters from lower-case to uppercase(capital letters) from
numerals
to symbols, and the numeric keypad numbers from lower-case to uppercase mode
CAPS LOCK-when it pressed a green light above the numeric keypad indicate that
CAPSLOCK mode has been activated
INPUT DEVICES-are devices for entering information into a computer. it contains:
1)keyboard 2)scanners 3)pointing devices 4)speech recognition 5)vision systems
POINTING DEVICES-joystick/mouse/light pen/touch-sensitive screens......
SCANNER-a device that can produce a digital image of a document for input and storage in
computer. They vary in their resolutions and types
1)flat-bed 2)drum 3)overhead
MOUSE-is a hand-held pointing device that lets you select and move items
LIGHT PEN-an input device resembling on ordinary pen, used to indicate locations on a
computer screen
TRACK BALL-appointing device that contains of a ball resting on two rollers at right angles
to each other which translate the motions into vertical and horizontal movement on the
screen
STYLUS-a pointing device used with a graphic tablet usually attached to the tablet with a
card
TOUCH PAD-is a surface that is sensitive to pressure and motion
OUTPUT DEVICE-any device for displaying in a form to the user, the results of processing
carried out by computer
OUTPUT DEVICES-most common devices are the VDU(Visual Display Unit=screen), the
printer, speakers...
MONITOR-the device on which images generated by the computer`s video adaptor.
DPI/SIZE....
CRT-Catod Ray Tube
LCD-Liquid Crystal Display
DISPLAY-an output device that looks like a television set and displays commands to the
computer
and their results
SCREEN-is the display area of a monitor
PRINTER-a computer peripheral that puts text or a computer-generated image on paper or
on another medium. Printers can be categorized in several different ways. The most common
distinction is impact and nonimpact. IMPACT printers physically trice the paper and are
exemplified by pin dot-matrix and daisywheel printers. NOIMPACT printers include every
other type of
print mechanism including thermal, ink-jet and laser printers. DPI/PPI/CPS
CARACTER PRINTERS-include standard 1) dotmatrix 2)ink-jet 3)thermal 4)daisywheel
PLOTTER-device that draws pictures or diagrams under computer control
CPU-the computational and control unit of a computer, the device that interprets
microprocessors made possible personal computers and workstations. It is the chip that
functions as the "brain" of a computer. The most important components of the CPU are
1)processor
 2)comprised of the arithmetic/logic unit(ALU)
3)control unit(CU)
4)Primary storage or memory

GENERATION-each new generation of CPUs is more powerful than the are before
SPEED-each CPU generation is available in several speeds. The CPU speed is a major
factor in determining how fast a computer operates. The speed of a CPU is measured in
megahertz(MHz)
MEMORY CACHE-it speeds up the computer by storing data the computer has recently used
INTERNAL CACHE-when the computer need the data computer first looks in internal cache.
Internal cache is on the CPU chip and provides the fastest way for the computer to get data
EXTERNAL CACHE-if the computer cannot find the data it needs in the internal cache the
computer looks in the external cache. It is on the motherboard and consists of static RAM
chips
MEMORY-circuitry that allows information to be stored and retrieved in the most general
sense.
PRIMARY STORAGE-or memory that may be read or written to is known as Random
Access Memory(RAM) Primary Storage stores data and program statements for the CPU
RAM-a semiconductor-based memory that can be read and ritten to by the microprocessor or
other hardware devices
ROM-semiconductor-based memory that contains instructions or data that can be read but
not
modified
SECONDARY STORAGE-is separate from primary storage and CPU, but directly connected
to it. it stores data in a format that is compatible with data stored in primary storage. But
secondary storage provides the computer with vastly increased potential for storing and
processing large quantities of software and data for long periods
SECONDARY STORAGE MEDIA-these are exclusively 1)magnetic(tape/hard disc/floppy)
2)optical(CD-ROM/WORM/rewritable optical discs)
DISC-a round, flat piece of flexible plastic (floppy) or inflexible metal(hard disc) coated with a
magnetic material that can be electrically influenced to hold information recorder in
digital(binary) form
FLOPPY DISC-a storage device consisting of alight, flexible disc enclosed in a cardboard or
plastic jacket
COMPACT DISC-small disc containing data recorded in digital form
HARD DISC-one or more inflexible platter scooted with material that allows magnetic
recording of computer data
WINCHESTER-an early IBM name for a hard disc
Modem-(modulator/demodulator) device that converts between analogue and digital signals
ANALOG SIGNAL-the signal a modem uses to communicate with another modem
BUS-the electrical pathway through which a computer processor communicates with some of
its parts or peripherals
BOARD-generally used for flat circuit board used to hold chips and other electronic
components and printed conductive paths between the components
ADAPTOR-usually a printed circuit board(also called an interface card) that enables the
computer to use a peripheral for which it doesn’t already have the necessary connections or
circuit board
PORT-a location for passing data in and out of a computing device
SOFTWARE-computer programs, instructions that make hardware work. The 2 primary
software categories:
OPERATING SYSTEM-which controls the working of computer
APPLICATION SOFTWARE-which addresses the multitude of tasks for which people use
computers
SYSTEM SOFTWARE-helps the computer carry out its basic operating tasks
OPERATING SYSTEM-DOS/UNIX/NT/OS2/MacOS/WINDOWS 95-2000/........
DEVICE DRIVERS-the system software that helps the computer control a peripheral device
UTILITIES-are subcategory of system software designed to augment the OPERATING
SYSTEM
APPLICATION SOFTWARE-helps the human user carry out a task
PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE-Word
Processing/Spreadsheets/Presentation/Graphics/Database Management/
Desktop Publishing/Scheduling/Electronic mail
ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE-games and software designed for entertainment
BUSINESS SOFTWARE-1)Vertical market 2)Horizontal market 3)Accounting 4)Payroll
CARACTER-a letter, number, punctuation mark or other symbol or control code that is
represented to a computer by one unit-1 byte of information
BIT-short form of binary digit: either 1 or 0 in the binary number system. It`s the smallest unit
of information handled by a computer
BYTE-a unit of information consisting of 8 bits. The equivalent of a single character
FILE-a complete, named collection of data
DATA-is information which performs by computer
FILE EXTENSION-the end part of some filenames including a period followed by one to
three characters
DIRECTORY-logic collection of files & subdirectories. A catalogue for filenames and other
directories stored on a disc a way of organizing and grouping the files on a disc so that the
used is not overwhelmed by a long list of files
METAFILE-a file that contains or designs other files
ALGORITHM-step by step, universal and finished method of solving a problem
PROGRAM-is the sequence of commands for solving problems by computer
COMPUTER PROGRAM-a set of instructions in same computer language, intended to be
executed on a computer to perform a useful task
UTILITY-a program designed to perform particular function. Utility usually refers to software
that solves narrowly focused problems or those related to computer system management
UTILITY PROGRAMS-are also considered part of the systems software and are used to
merge and sort files keep track of computer jobs being run and perform other important
tasks
FAT=File Allocation Table-a table used by the operating system to record the physical
arrangement of files on disc
DECICE DRIVER-a software component that permits a computer system to communicate
with a device
BOOT/BOOTSTRAP-the process of starting up a computer
BIOS-(Basic Input/output System) is the part of the operating system that handless input and
output
INTERFACE-the point of contact between 2 programs or pieces of equipment
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE-any artifial language that can be used to define a sequence
of instructions that can ultimately be processed and executed by the computer
BUG-an error in software or hardware
PRESENTATIONS SOFTWARE-presents a sequential procession of information
encyclopedia or a photo album
MULTIMEDIA-the combination of sound, graphics, animation and video
OPERATING SYSTEM-the software responsible for controlling the allocation and usage of
hardware resources
DOS-a generic term describing any operating system that is loaded from disc devices when
the system is started or rebooted
WINDOWS-common or "street name" for Microsoft Windows a multitasking graphical user
interface environment that runs on MS-DOS based computers
WINDOW-is a rectangle that displays information on the screen. Each window has a title bar
that displays the name of the WINDOW