INTRODUCTION TO DATA PROCESSING

  COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER SYSTEM A computer system consists of three main parts otherwise called components. They are : Hardware Software People ware   HARDWARE COMPONENT The computer hardware could be defined as the physical parts of the computer that we see, feel and handle. It consists of device for input, processing, storage, output and communications. Hardware can be divided into two sections: System Unit The peripherals   HARDWARE Hardware is the physical parts of the computer system that you can see and touch. They are the components that make up the visible computer. It consists of devices for input, processing, storage, output and communications. The basic parts of computer hardware can be divided into: System Unit Peripherals   CPU/SYSTEM UNIT The CPU is the brain of computer system and it can subdivided into: Control Unit Arithmetic and Logic Unit Memory Unit   CONTROL UNIT This is the uni...

  DIGITALIZATION OF DATA Digitalization is the process of converting information into digital format. This information may represent an object, image, sound, document or a signal (usually an analog signal) organized into discrete set of its points or samples. This is the binary data that computers and many devices with computing capacity (such as digital camera and digital hearing aids) can process.   Digitalization can also be defined as the integration of digital technologies into everyday life. Digital system uses a binary numeric system in which electronic pulses are represented by either 0 for a Low pulse or 1 for a High pulse. Digital can more easily represent symbols such as alphanumeric characters that represent real world data than the analog system.   BENEFITS OF DIGITALIZATION Long term preservation of documents Orderly archiving of documents Easy and customized access to information Easy information dissemination through images an...

  CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS BY SIZE Computers can be generally categorized into four, namely: Super computers Mainframe computers Mini computers Micro computers   SUPER COMPUTER These are the largest, fastest and most expensive computers. The cost is several millions of dollars and the speed is between 600 million to 900 million instructions per second (MIP). Another name for super computer is MONSTER. Scientists in weather forecasting, exploration make use of super computers. It can also be used for complex calculations e.g CRAY, X-MP etc.   MAINFRAME COMPUTERS A mainframe computer is a large computer in terms of price, size of internal memory and speed. It has a variety of peripheral devices such as printers, plotters etc more than those found with small computers, except small computers with large amount of external storage. Mainframe computers usually need a specialized environment to operate, with dust, temperature and humidity carefull...

  CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER ACCORDING TO TYPES TION OF COMPUTER BY TYPES Computers can be classified by types into THREE major types. They are: DIGITAL COMPUTER ANALOGUE COMPUTER HYBRID COMPUTER DIGITAL COMPUTER This is the most common type of computer today. It measures physical quantities by counting. Examples are calculator,digital wrist watches, digital fuel dispenser etc. ANALOGUE COMPUTER This type of computer is used to measure and process continuous data such as speed, temperature, heartbeat etc. Examples are speedometer, thermometer etc. HYBRID COMPUTER This type of computer combines the features of digital and analogue computers together. It is a combinations of digital and analogue computers.   CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER BY FUNCTIONALITY Classification of computer according to purpose can be grouped into two (2), namely: 1.  General purpose computers 2.  Special purpose computers ·  SPECIAL PURPOSE COMPUTERS These are computers designed solely to s...