Cybercity Computer Classes

Something has to tell the chip what to do with

Basic Computer Literacy Information
each input signal in order to combine it with other input
Not everyone today knows the basics needed to
signals to make the output: the program. The program is
understand use of computers for communications and
just more information; it is written in a 'programming
information technology applications in education. These
language' that is a cross between English and Algebra. An
notes give a very simplified explanation of the most basic
input device called an 'interpreter' or 'compiler' converts
concepts; you should use them as a guide to find out more
the typed program into input signals to the chip. The chip
about each topic listed below. Ultimately, the best way to
combines the other input information with the program
learn to use these tools is to practice using them 'hands-
information to create its output signals. All information for
on', but you need to know a few basics to get started and
the chip has to be in the form of a simple electric signal:
to know where to go from there. (Some points below are a
voltage on (or voltage high) vs. voltage off (or voltage low).
bit over-simplified.)
This simple signal is represented by a '1' (for ON or High)
1. What computers are and are not
vs. a '0' (for OFF or Low) in writing programs. Every letter
The term 'computer' is misleading for many
of the alphabet, every number, every color, every location
people. It suggests that these machines are mainly about
on the computer screen, every sound has a code in terms
computing with numbers; that was their original use, but
of a long sequence of 1's and 0's (voltage signals), such as:
they are in fact 'all-purpose' machines. A computer can
100111010100011101.
work as a telephone, a television, a VCR, a CD player, a
Since this form of coding is slow and hard to
typewriter, a bulletin board, a post office, a multimedia
remember, programming languages are built so that the
textbook, a mini-library, an art gallery, a music-composing
program writer puts in words and special symbols (for
tool, etc. You can use it to design a house, create a 3D
operations like comparing two codes, storing a code
painting, simulate a science experiment, and, yes, even
temporarily in the computer's memory chip, etc.), and the
compute with numbers. Most uses of computers in
language runs its own program to convert these into the
education today do not involve numbers at all.
actual 1 and 0 codes. As computer languages have become
2. How a computer works
more advanced they have basically become complex
The brain of the computer is called the Central
programs themselves: they tell the CPU how to convert
Processing Unit (CPU). It is located inside the main box on
instructions from the user into 1 and 0 codes. A long set of
a printed electric circuit called a Motherboard; it is a
instructions makes up a program, and is also called 'the
'micro-chip', a piece of ceramic-like material that has
code' for that program. The 1's and 0's are called the
billions of microscopic electrical connections etched onto
'machine language code' -- since they directly control the
it. Any form of information (words, pictures, sounds,
electric signals to the chip -- and the instructions about
numbers) can be converted to electric signals that are
what to do with each unit of information is called the
'input' to the chip. The electric connections on the chip
'assembly language code'. Most programmers write in a
allow these signals to be compared to one another and
'high level language' (e.g. C++ or Visual Basic or Java),
combined with one another according to a 'program' that
which runs a little program to convert itself into the
'processes' or manipulates the information into a new
machine code. In high level languages the kinds of
form, which becomes the 'output' electric signal from the
instructions you write are things like: Open a window on
chip. Everything else in a computer is designed to take
the screen, take the words from this file and display them
human information and convert it to the input electric
in the window, highlight the word that the mouse cursor
signals for the chip, or to take the chip's output signals and
(see below) is over, etc.
convert them back to a form that humans can recognize.
4. The parts of the computer
These other components are called 'peripherals', or just
What you see when you look at a typical computer
input and output devices.
workstation is:
3. Computer programs
 a Monitor -- looks like and basically is a TV screen
and controls
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Developed By - Vijay Nimje
M - 09325303774
Mama Chowk Civil Line, Gondia
 Cybercity Computer Classes
 a Keyboard -- like a typewriter but with many
useful extra keys
 a Mouse -- a palm-size gadget that rolls on a ball
and has buttons on it
 a Printer -- inkjet or laser-xerox miniature
printing machine a microphone and speakers -- if
you're lucky, not all machine have these
 a pair of stereo Speakers, for multimedia systems
(also sometimes a Microphone to speak into)
 a miniature TV camera -- if you're very lucky; not
yet common
 the BOX -- contains the CPU microchip and all the
really important components
So then, what's in/on the BOX?
On the Front of the box:
 On/Off switch (sometimes on the side)
 Reset button -- only on some machines
 Floppy-disk Drive -- you put in a square disk that
contains information
 CD-ROM drive -- you put in a digital CD platter
that contains a lot of information
 Tape Drive -- optional, for storing information in
case something goes wrong
 Other special drives -- old-fashioned big diskette
drive, super-new storage drives
 On/off light, Hard Disk Operating light,
miscellaneous lights and buttons
Inside the Box. What you see on the front is just the
opening slot of the actual drives. A 'drive' is a storage
device. In addition to the CPU chip and the input and
output devices, computers need places to store
information either temporarily or more permanently (for
reuse later), the short-term storage is called RAM
(random-access memory) and is expensive. For longterm
storage various kinds of disks and platters and cassettes
are used; these are basically like videotape, but much
higher quality, or like CDs. The drives read the information
off these storage media and pass it on to the CPU; some
drives can also write new information onto the disk or
platter/CD or cassette.
 The CPU and RAM memory chips on the
'motherboard'
 The HARD DRIVE -- the main long term storage
system for programs and info
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 The Disk and CD-ROM drives -- the main part of
them is inside the box
 The specialized 'Boards' -- these run the input
and output devices
 The Modem -- one of the boards; connects to the
telephone line
 Network Board -- another board, connects to the
LAN (see below)
 Video Board -- connects to the monitor
 An electric power supply, battery, and a lot of
connecting cables
Every input device and output device is connected
first to a specialized Board that has its own microchip to
convert signals and pass them on to the CPU (on the main
or Mother Board).
On the back of the Box. This is where all the input/output
peripherals are connected to the Box, and the Box is
connected to the electric outlet, the telephone system (for
a modem), and the local area computer network (LAN)
cable system. There are a lot of confusing cables back
here. Sometimes they come lose. The specialized Boards
stick out the back slightly, just like the drives stick out the
front slightly. The Boards have connector sockets called
Ports where the keyboard, mouse, printer, monitor, etc.
are supposed to be plugged in.
5. How to turn it on
To make the computer work, there has to be
electric power to several different parts, so there are
sometimes several ON switches; you need to turn ALL of
them on. If you are lucky there will be one Master Switch
to do all this for you, but don't count on it. First make sure
there are no disks VISIBLE in any of the drives (look, don't
touch). If there is one in the drive, push the release button
to get it out. Now, turn on the power supply switch if there
is one (sometimes called Master Switch). Turn on the
Monitor (watch for a light to come on). Turn on the Printer
(optional). Turn on the Box.
The machine is working if: lights come on all the parts,
after a minute or less you see something on the monitor
screen: words, numbers, changing colors. It takes a few
minutes for a computer to warm up and get itself ready to
work, be patient.
6. The 'Boot Up' Process
Watch the monitor screen while the machine is
starting up. It may go by fast at times, but you can learn a
Developed By - Vijay Nimje
M - 09325303774
Mama Chowk Civil Line, Gondia
 Cybercity Computer Classes
lot. There are ways to slow it down, too, but that's for
advanced users. The first things you usually see on a PC
(not a Mac) is the count-up of the RAM memory. 8000 is
very small, 16000 is ok, 32000 is good, more is wonderful.
The machine is really testing the short-term memory
storage to see that it's working and how much there is.
You can add more memory by paying for it and sticking it
in the box.
Now the machine starts to check all the different
input and output devices. It looks for the keyboard and
tests it, the mouse, the monitor, the printer, the hard
drive, the disk drive, the CD-ROM drive, etc. For each of
these it loads a program called a 'driver' program to
convert signals between the CPU and the device. This is
the time when the machine detects any problems. Hope
that it doesn't find anything wrong! This is also usually the
time when a program is run automatically to check for
'viruses' (these are unwanted programs that can damage
the machine or make it not work properly; they have
nothing to do with biological viruses at all).
If everything is working, the machine displays the USER
INTERFACE. This is your signal that you can now take over
and tell the machine what to do. Everything before this
was automatic, run by programs built into the machine.
The basic startup program is called the BIOS, then there
are other programs that you can sometimes change (like
how to check for viruses, what kind of CR-ROM drive you
have, etc.).
7. The Operating System and the User Interface
The operating system is the master program that
runs the computer behind the scenes while you work. It
translates your instructions into actions by the machine. It
also heads off conflicts between one part of the machine
and another, making them all take turns. The most
common operating systems are Windows, Mac OS and
Unix. DOS is an older system that is now a small part of
Windows.
The User Interface is what you see on the screen at the
beginning. You can come back to this screen anytime you
need it. Sometimes a part of it is always visible. The
simplest user interface is a Command Line. The line is
shown by a Prompt, some symbols that tell you where to
type your commands (e.g. C:\windows> ...); this is not so
common today, but it is easy to use -- if you remember the
Commands. Since most people can't remember a lot of
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commands or don't want to be bothered, the alternative is
a GUI, graphical user interface: a pretty set of little pictures
called 'icons' with printed labels on them that appear on
the screen to remind you of the commands. The Mouse is
used to 'click' on an icon or label to issue a command. The
most common commands are the ones to start new
programs. The programs then give you more choices of
specialized commands to edit text, draw pictures, access
the internet, etc.
8. Programs, Commands, Folders and Files
An 'application program' is the most common
kind of program. A word-processor is an application
program for writing, reading, and editing text. A paint or
draw program is for making, viewing, and changing
pictures. A calculator program is for doing arithmetic.
Almost everything you want to do with a computer is
available, for a price, as a program or set of connected
programs. Every program appears on screen as an icon, or
has a command to start it.
Once you start a program, there are special
commands that work only in that program to make it do
things, or there are special icons that appear to help you
do these things. Many programs have a linked Help
program, that tells you what to do. Some have Wizard
programs that walk you step by step through something.
There are also Tutorial programs to introduce a new
program to you. And there are program manuals, printed
books that explain how to use the program. To use any
program you have to LEARN how.
Most programs create, read, and modify
information. This information is then stored in a FILE.
There are text files, picture files, sound files, video files,
multimedia files, and others. All information in a computer
is stored in some kind of a file. To keep track of all these
files, there is a Filing System, a special program built into
the operating system. What you see are Folders (also
called directories or subdirectories), and inside a folder
there are files. There can also be folders inside other
folders. To locate a particular file of information, the
computer, and sometimes you, need to know the Path to
the file, which consists of telling what DRIVE it is stored on,
what folder it is in, what folder that folder is in, and so on.
Usually each drive has a letter, or an icon. If there are
letters, A: and B: are the floppy disk drives, C: is the main
hard disk drive (where most of the files are kept
Developed By - Vijay Nimje
M - 09325303774
Mama Chowk Civil Line, Gondia
 Cybercity Computer Classes
permanently), and other letters can be other disk drives
and CD-ROM drives. A path might look like
C:\windows\system\audio.dll -- this is the path to a file
called audio.dll that contains information that the
windows operating system uses to communicate with the
speakers and play music or sound; it is in a folder called
System and that is in a folder called Windows and that
folder is permanently stored on the C: hard drive. Usually
you can just use the icons for the file system to click on
folders, 'open' them, and see more folders or files 'inside'
them. These are just visual images on the screen, not the
actual files, but you can link to the real files by clicking on
their image icons.
10. Actually doing something
Start up the computer (section 5). Wait till
everything stops. Click on an icon on the user interface
screen. If nothing happens, 'double click' (twice very fast)
or hit the Enter key. This will either start a program or
open a folder than contains files and programs. On many
computers if you double-click a file that can be seen or
heard with a program, the program will automatically start
up and show the file (a text, a picture, etc.). Otherwise you
have to start the program first and then use its special
commands to open a particular file.
Look for a MENU bar at the top of the screen
once a program has started. Move the mouse around to
put the cursor on the menu bar and press the button on
the mouse. You should see a list of commands. Click on a
command, or move the mouse with the button held down
over a command and then let go of the mouse button
(takes a little practice). If there is a FILE menu of
commands, one will be the OPEN command. If you activate
this command, a little box will usually appear to ask which
file you want to open, and very often there will be a way to
see a list of all the files that the program can use. There
will also be a NEW command, to let you create a new file,
e.g. a new text document, a new picture, etc.
There is also usually a HELP command somewhere near
the end of the MENU bar, or pressing the F1 key (one
special key, not F and 1) may start the Help program.
The FILE menu will also usually have a QUIT or EXIT or
CLOSE or STOP command which will either close the file
you are using or stop the program altogether (it does not
stop the computer, just one program). The program will
usually ask you if you want to save the new file or changes
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you made to a file in permanent storage. If it was a new
file, say YES; if it was a file you found already in the
computer, say NO, unless you are really sure that it is ok to
make a change in it. A file remains unchanged in storage
unless you specifically SAVE changes to it. The copy on file
is not the copy you see on the screen, until you tell the
machine to replace the file copy with the one on screen.
This is called SAVING the new file.
The operating system usually knows what program goes
with what file (this is called an 'association'), but
sometimes you have to tell it. Sometimes a program
cannot use a file of information until it has been
'converted' to work with that program. If you have a paper
you wrote on a Mac and want to print it on a PC, it has to
be converted first. If you have a paper you wrote with the
MSWord program and you want to edit it with the
WordPerfect program, it has to be converted first. Always
keep a copy of the original version, just in case something
goes wrong. This safety rule is called 'backing up' the file,
i.e. keeping a spare copy of the old version in case the new
version doesn't work or is accidentally lost or ruined.
Key Things to Learn First:
How to use the Mouse to start a program and use menu
commands in a program How to copy a file from a disk to
the hard drive and vice versa How to make a back-up copy
of a file on a disk or on the hard drive How to find a
program or a file in the computer's filing systems of folder
icons How to check a disk to make sure it has no viruses on
it (VERY IMPORTANT!!) How to start a Browser program to
access the Internet (WWW, web) How to print a file How
to store on disk or hard-drive a copy of a file you found on
the internet
The Most Important Types of Application Programs
 Word Processor -- creates, reads, edits text files;
sometimes can add pictures or tables
 Paint or Draw -- creates, shows, and changes
pictures and images; usually in color
 Database -- stores and organizes information, helps
locate needed information
 Spreadsheet -- does simple math calculations,
especially for businesses
 Communications -- helps connect to other
computers by modem and telephone
 Browser -- connects to the Internet to show web
pages
Developed By - Vijay Nimje
M - 09325303774
Mama Chowk Civil Line, Gondia
 Cybercity Computer Classes
 Email -- write, read, send, receive, store, and
organize electronic mail messages
Input Devices: Keyboard, Mouse, Microphone, Trackball,
Joystick; Disk or CD drive when it reads a disk or CD Output
Devices: Monitor, Printer, Speakers; Disk drive when it
writes information onto a disk Storage Devices: Hard disk,
Floppy diskette disk, CD-ROM platter disk, Tape Backup
drive
Types of Computers: Macintosh, Windows PC, Unix
workstation, Mainframe, Supercomputer
BIOS (Basic input/output system): A type of ROM that is
used by the computer to establish basic communications
when the computer is first turned on caching-The storing
of frequently used data in extremely fast RAM that
connects directly to the CPU.
Virtual Memory: space on harddisk used to temporarily
store data and swap it in and out of RAM as needed.
Mother Board: This is the main circuit board that all of the
other internal components connect to. The CPU and
memory are usually on the motherboard.
Hard Disk: This is large-capacity permanent storage used
to hold information such as programs and documents.
AGP(Accelerated Graphics Port):It is a very high speed
connection used by the graphic card to interface with the
computer.
Sound Card: This is used by the computer to record and
play audio by converting analog sound in to digital
information and back again.
Graphics Card: This translates image data from the
computer in to a format that can be displayed by the
monitor.
Common Input–Out Put Devices:
Keyboard: Generally used to type or select an option on
the screen. It is an input device.
Mouse: It is an input device which is used to point and
select some option on VDU.
Vdu(Visual Display Unit): It is an output device where the
output of any command is displayed ie. The screen.
Printer: Is the output device .Different types of printer.
1. Dot matrix printer
2. Inkjet Printer
3. Laser Printer etc.
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Floppy Disk Drives: It is a common form of removable
storage, floppy disk are extremely inexpensive and easy to
save information.
Scanner: It is an input device. A scanner scans an image
and transform the image to ASCII Graphics . These codes
can be edited, manipulated & than printed.
Cd-Rom Drive: It is an input device. To read a Cd-Rom disk
a Cd-Rom drive is required . One can only read from it and
cannot write on it.
Dvd-Rom: DVD-Rom is similar to Cd-Rom but is capable of
holding much more information.
Cd-Writer: It is input device. To write from other CD to
your CD , writer is used.
Display Adaptor: The electronic work behind information
of images on the screen is handled by the vision controller.
The video controller along with the memory that holds the
display data are together referred to as the PC which can
represent data on the screen in two modes. One is the text
mode on which only text or individual characters can be
displayed . The other is graphic mode, Where graphic can
be shown by building up a drawing made of dots.
Different Connections : Ports
Parallel: This port is commonly used to connect a printer.
Serial: This port is typically used to connect an external
modem, mouse etc.
USB(Universal Serial Bus): This port is becoming most
popular external connection, USB ports offer power and
versatility and are incredibly easy to use.
Connections Internet/ Network:
Modem: This is the standard method of connecting to the
Internet.
LAN(Local Area Network) card: This is used by many
computers, particularly those in an Ethernet office network
to connected to each other.
Cable modem: Some people now use the cable –television
system in their home to connect to the internet.
DSL(Digital Subscriber Line) modem: This is a high speed
connection that works over a standard telephone line.
VDSL (Very high bit- rate DSL) modem: A newer variation
of DSL , VDSL requires that your phone line have fiber optic
cables.
Developed By - Vijay Nimje
M - 09325303774
Mama Chowk Civil Line, Gondia