FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTING Lecture 01 Introduction S a s h i k a - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTING

Lecture 01 Introduction

S a s h i k a S a m a r a g u n a r a t n e

Facilitator

• Name: Sashika Samaragunaratne
• Contact Details :

Sashika.samaragunaratne@gmail.com

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Module Structure

• Content Delivery
• Lectures
• In-class assignments
• Group discussions
• Presentations
• Practical Sessions
• Assessment
• Take - home assignment ( Report & Viva)
• Practical Exam ( closed book)

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Practical Sessions

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Assessment Structure

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Breaking the ICE

• Name
• School
• Most Disliked Subject and Why
• Where do you see your self in another 5 years

time..

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Contents

• Computers in your life
• What is a computer & what does it do?
• Computers then and now
• End Users and Power Users

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Computers in our life

• Computers are integral part of our life.
• Pervasive computing/ubiquitous computing
• found virtually everywhere, communicates

with each other on an on-going basis.

• Computer literacy
• Knowing about and understanding

computers and their uses-an essential skill

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Computers at home

• Increased dramatically over last few years
• Computers and internet is less expensive
• A new norm- use internet for anything
• Home computing for work is also increasing

rapidly.

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Computers at home (cont..)

• Wireless networking-convenience of home

computing.

• Smart appliances- traditional appliances with

some type of built-in computer or communications technology.

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Computers at home (cont..)

• Reference, Productivity and communications
• Exchanging Email, obtaining news, managing

digital pictures

• Online shopping and banking
• Entertainment
• Smart appliances
• Voice over IP (VOIP)
• Making calls over the internet

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Computers in Education

• Computing generation- today’s youth.
• Usage amount varies with schools, levels of

education etc.

• Computer labs and classrooms
• Presentations
• Campus wireless hotspots
• Distance learning

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Computers in the workplace

• Decision Making
• Productivity
• Perform the job efficiently and accurately.
• Collaboration
• Customer Service
• Work Authentication Systems

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What is a computer & what does it do??

• A computer is a programmable,

electronic device that accepts data, performs operations on that data, presents the results, and store the data

• r results as needed.

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Four primary operations of a computer

• Input – entering data into the computer
• Process – performs operations on the data
• Output – presents the results
• Storage – saving data, programs or output

for future use.

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Information processing cycle

• The progression of input, processing, output

and storage is sometimes referred to as IPOS cycle or the information cycle.

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Data vs. Information Data

• Data refers to raw, unevaluated facts,

figures, symbols, objects, events, etc.

• Data may be a collection of facts lying in

storage, like telephone directory or census records.

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Data vs. Information Information

• Information is data that have been put into a

meaningful and useful context and communicated to a recipient who uses it to make decisions.

• Ex: if you want to contact your friend, his or her

telephone number is a piece of information,

• therwise it is just one element of data in the

telephone directory.

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Computers then and now

• The basic idea of computing and calculating

goes back thousands of years.

• The history of computers are referred in

generations with each new generation categorized by a major technological development.

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First Generation – Vacuum Tubes 1940 – 1956

• Used vacuum tubes as circuitry and magnetic drums

for memory

• Enormous - takes up an entire room
• Used a huge amount of electricity.
• Generated a lot of heat -> Ongoing breakdowns
• Costs a fortune to run
• Inefficient

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• Relied on ‘machine language
• Limited to solving one problem at a time
• Input - based on punched cards and paper tape.
• Output - on print-outs.
• The two notable machines of this era were :
• UNIVAC
• ENIAC

Vacuum Tubes (cont..)

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• First invented in 1947
• Used significantly in computers after the

1950s.

• A big improvement over the vacuum tube
• Made computers smaller, faster, cheaper

and less heavy on electricity use.

• Still relied on punched card for

input/printouts.

Second Generation – Transistors

1956 – 1963

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Transistors (cont..)

• The language : binary language -> assembly
• languages. ( instructions in words) – COBOL,

FORTON

• First computers to store instructions into their

memories

• magnetic drum -> magnetic core ‘technology’ (storage)
• The early versions of these machines were developed

for the atomic energy industry.

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Third Generation – Integrated Circuits 1964 – 1971

• Transistors were now being miniaturized and put
• n silicon chips (called semiconductors).
• This led to a massive increase in speed and

efficiency

• First computers where users interacted using

keyboards and monitors which interfaced with an

• perating system
• Ran several applications at once using a central

program which functioned to monitor memory.

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Fourth Generation – Microprocessors

1972 – 2010

• This revolution can be summed in one word:

Intel.

• Intel 4004 chip in 1971 - positioned all computer

components (CPU, memory, input/output controls) onto a single chip.

• What filled a room in the 1940s now fit in the

palm of the hand.

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Microprocessors (cont..)

• The Intel chip housed thousands of integrated

circuits.

• 1981 - first ever computer (IBM) specifically

designed for home use

• 1984 - MacIntosh introduced by Apple
• Microprocessors even moved beyond the realm of

computers and into an increasing number of everyday products.

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Microprocessors (cont..)

• Small computers with increased power were linked,

creating networks.

• Development, birth and rapid evolution of the Internet.
• Major advances :
• Graphical user interface (GUI)
• Advances in laptop capability
• Hand-held devices.

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Fifth Generation – Present and Beyond

• Computer devices with artificial intelligence are still in

development, but some of these technologies have begun to emerge and is in use: such as voice recognition.

• AI is a reality made possible by using parallel processing

and superconductors.

• Leaning to the future, computers are radically

transformed again by quantum computation, molecular and nano technology.

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End User

• A user with moderate technical knowledge of

Information Technology who uses computers for education, entertainment or work-related tasks.

• Home-user
• Small business user
• Mobile user
• Large business user

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Power- User

• A person who has had extensive education or

considerable experience in the technical and functional aspects of using Information Technology and Information Systems.

• Engineers
• Architects
• Graphic artists
• Desktop publishers

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Summary

• Computers in your life
• What is a computer & what does it do?
• Computers then and now
• End Users and Power Users

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Research Area

• Find out and document how computers fit to

everyday activities/needs.

• Create a report on ubiquitous computing.

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THANK YOU

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