Computers are machines that process data based on specific instructions Computers are one of the efficient
devices that enable communication, provide education, and share information in today's world and hence these devices are now-a-days an integral part of our lives. Today's computers are a result of gradual, continuous, and intensive developments in technology. With continuous advancements in the field of computers, the concept of sharing information distributed on multiple computers gave birth to the concept of networks, which is now popularly known as the Internet
To better comprehend the working of computers, you need to appreciate the basic concepts of computing.
Basic computing concepts include units of measuring information (bits and bytes), the computer hardware,
and instructions to process information (software). In addition, to utilize the power of computers, you need to
understand the concept and working of the Internet.
Understanding Bits and Bytes
The data and information that computers process, store, and share is measured in specific units, such as bits and bytes.
A bit is the smallest unit mation that a com processes. The is a short form for the term. "binary digit". A bit can have any of the two logical values, true or false. Mathematically, true and false correspond to 1 and 0, respectively. Therefore, a bit can represent any of the two numbers, 0 or 1.
A byte is another unit of information; it represents larger volumes of data. represent 256 values, ranging from 0 through 255. byte is equal to 8 bits. It can Kilobyte is the unit for even larger volumes of data. Most documents that you create are typically a few or more Kilobytes. A Kilobyte equals 1,024 bytes or 8,192 bits.
Documents larger than 1,024 Kilobytes are said to be a few megabytes in size. A megabyte comprises 1,024
Kilobytes. Until about a decade ago, computer hard drives provided storage for megabytes of data. Within
the last decade when data explosion took place, the size of hard drives increased from megabytes to
gigabytes
A gigabyte contains 1,024 megabytes. Personal computers and handheld devices commonly provide gigabytes of storage. For example, most computer hard drives range from 250 gigabytes to 500 gigabytes, even though the size of a hard drive can be much more than just 500 gigabytes.
Computer hard drives are further increasing in size moving from gigabytes to terabytes. A terabyte is equal to 1,024 gigabytes. When purchasing a computer, you can opt for a hard drive that is several terabytes in size.
Understanding Software
Computer software is a set of instructions in the form of a program that tell the computer hardware what action to perform, how to perform it, and on which data to perform the action. Sets of such instructions, which are compiled in the form of a program, take user instructions as inputs and provide specific output Computer software is designed for a specific purpose. For example, you can use the software Adobe Photoshop for working with images and Microsoft Word for working with documents.
Software can be packaged software, also called off-the-shelf software, or custom designed to meet a special requirement. Packaged or off-the-shelf software is developed by a software development firm and sold as a product in the market. For example, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, and Internet Explorer are packaged software
available in the market for users to purchase.
Custom software is designed internally by a company or through a vendor that develops software Consider a scenario. A retail store uses custom inventory software InvARC that is developed in-house by its software development team. InvARC is designed for generating and printing invoices. A billing executive creating an invoice using a computer enters the number of items bought and the price of cach item. This information entered during billing forms the data that will be processed as per the software instructions. These instructions confirm that the required data has been entered and then tell the computer to perform the required mathematical operations, such as multiplication and addition, on the data. Finally, when billing is complete, the software instructions tell the computer to display and print the invoice.
On the basis of the functions computer software performs, it is categorized into the following three types: System software: This category of software provides operating instructions to the hardware components of a computer, such as the keyboard, mouse, and monitor. To provide these instructions, system software communicates with the hardware directly. Examples of system software include operating systems, device drivers, and Basic Input Output System (BIOS).
Programming software: This category of software includes tools that facilitate software development.
Examples of programming software include compilers, debuggera, and interpreters. Programming
software communicates with the hardware through the system software as it cannot access the hardware
directly.
Application software: This category includes software that is specifically developed to enable the user to perform a specific task. Examples of such software include Internet Explorer (that you can use to access the requested information over the Internet) and Tally Software (that helps create taxation, invoicing, and financial statements for organizations). Applications always communicate with the operating system (OS) to get system resources such as memory and processing power. It is the OS that facilitates communication between the application and hardware.
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