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Notes
Computer Science
According to Syllabus of FBISE
Chapter: 01 Class: 9th Long Questions
Q. 01) Describe five generations of computers?
Ans: Generations of Computer
History of computers is a chain that runs from Abacus and the analytical engine of the 19 th
century, through the modern computers of present age. It is generally divided into five
generations which are characterized by technological developments of that time.
1. First Generation Computers (1940-1956)
The first-generation computers used Vacuum tubes. Vacuum tubes produced so much heat that
they had to be cooled by air conditioner. It burnt very often and was difficult to repair and
maintain.
Characteristics of First-Generation Computers
They were slow and memory was very small.
They were huge in size and could take up an entire room.
They were expensive and unreliable.
They consumed a lot of electricity and generated a lot of heat.
Punch cards were used as Input device.
Output was obtained on printouts using electric typewriter.
Machine language was used in these computers.
Examples:
Examples of first-generation computers are ENIAC, UNIVAC, IBM 604, Mark-1 and
EDSAC.
2. Second Generation Computers (1956-1963)
Transistors replaced vacuum tubes in second-generation computers. Transistor was faster, more
reliable, smaller, and much cheaper than vacuum tube.
Characteristics of Second-Generation Computers
They were faster and had more memory than 1 st generation computers.
They were smaller as compare to 1st generation computers.
They were cheaper and more reliable than 1st generation.
They consumed less electricity and generated less heat as compare to 1 st generation.
Punch cards, magnetic tapes, magnetic disks were used as input device.
Printer was used as output device.
Assembly language was used in these computers while High Level Languages like
FORTRAN and COBOL were also introduced.
Examples:
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Example of second-generation computers are UNIVAC II, IBM 7030, GE 635, CDC 1604
etc.
3. Third Generation Computers (1963-1971)
Semiconductor chips known as Integrated Circuits (ICs) replaced transistors in third generation
computers. A single IC chip contains large number of transistors. It increased the power and
reduced the cost of computers and became the breakthrough in advancing computing
technology.
Characteristics of Second-Generation Computers
IC chips improved the speed and memory of 3 rd generation computers.
They were smaller as compare to 1st and 2nd generation computers.
They were cheaper and more reliable than 1st and 2nd generation.
They consumed less electricity and generated negligible heat.
Keyboard was introduced as input device.
Monitor was used as output device.
They supported multi-tasking and multi-programming.
Examples:
Example of third-generation computers are Burroughs 6700, IBM System/360, CDC
3300 and 6600 computers.
4. Fourth Generation Computers (1971-Present)
Microprocessor replaced IC chips in 4 th generation computers. A single microprocessor contains
millions of transistors and can handle all the processing of a computer.
Characteristics of Fourth-Generation Computers
Microprocessors resulted in invention of microcomputers.
4th generation computers are very fast with large storage capacity and advanced I/O
devices.
They were very small and very reliable computers.
They were cheaper and consumed less power.
Large of variety of software is available for use in microcomputers.
They support modern programming languages like JAVA, C++, Python, Visual BASIC etc.
for developing powerful software.
They support a large variety of portable and wireless I/O devices.
Examples:
Some examples of 4th generation microcomputers are IBM ThinkPad Series, HP Pavlion
series, Dell Inspiron series and Apple’s MacBook Pro and MacBook Air series.
5. Fifth Generation Computers (Present and Beyond)
The goal of fifth generation is to develop computers that can understand Natural languages and
have thinking power. This is a big challenge for developers. Currently, computers have Artificial
Narrow Intelligence (ANI) but research is going on to achieve Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
in computers.
Characteristics of Fourth-Generation Computers
They are based on Artificial Intelligence (AI).
AI will minimize the need to write programs in 5 th generation.
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They will allow users to give commands in Natural language such as English.
Examples:
Examples of 5th generation computers are Robots and Expert systems.
Q. 02: Write a note on mainframe, minicomputer, and microcomputer?
Ans:
Q. 03) Explain the basic operations of computer?
Ans:
Q. 04) Write a short on the following:
Hardware Engineer.
Network Administrator.
Database Administrator.
Web Designer.
Multimedia Designer.
Ans:
Q. 05) Describe the following types of application software:
Productivity software.
Business software.
Entertainment software.
Education software.
Ans:
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Chapter 02
Long Questions
Q. 01: Explain the functions of operating system.
Ans: Operating System:
Operating system is a collection of system software that controls the working of computer
system. It acts as an interface between user and computer. It can be viewed as resource
manager that manage resources of computer to help in execution of different application
programs.
Functions of Operating System:
Following are the main functions of Operating system:
1. Process management
A process is a program in execution. In a computer, multiple processes are executing
simultaneously or waiting for their turn for execution. A process needs resources of computer
like processor, I/O and memory for execution.
It is the responsibility of operating system to allocate resources to processes, enable processes
to share information and to protect resources of each process from other processes.
2. Memory management
Memory management is the process of allocating memory space for user programs in main
memory.
When programs are run by the users, operating system allocates portions of free memory space
to programs. When it is closed, operating system will free the memory portion used by that
program for reuse.
3. Input/Output management
I/O management is the process of controlling the operation of all the input and output devices
connected to the computer.
User communicates with computer through various devices like keyboard, mouse, monitor,
printer etc. management of these devices is the responsibility of operating system. It uses I/O
controller to manage and coordinate their operation.
4. File management
File management organizes, stores, and keeps track of computer files and folders. Computer
files can be documents, programs, images, videos etc.
Operating system controls the common operations performed on files like creating, opening,
editing, renaming, moving, copying, deleting, and searching a file.
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5. Resource management
Operating system automatically manages the resources of a computer. The resources of a
computer include microprocessor, memory and all the devices connected to it.
Operating system allocates resources of a computer to application programs according to user’s
requirement to improve performance of a computer.
6. User management
User management is important to maintain a secure computer system. The operating system
gives full control over computer system to a person known as Administrator.
Administrator creates and manages user accounts and installs various programs on a computer
for users. Administrator allows users to run various programs that are installed on a computer.
When a user account is created, the user is assigned a username and password. A user can login
to the computer by entering username and password assigned to him and can run programs and
save his files in his personal folder. Operating system doesn’t allow users to install programs or
create new users.
Q.02: Describe the following computer interfaces:
a) Command Line Interface
b) Graphical User Interface
c) Menu-Driven Interface
Ans:
Q. 03: Describe the following types of operating systems:
a) Batch Processing System
b) Time-Sharing System
c) Real-Time System
Ans:
Q. 04: Write notes on Macintosh and Linux operating systems.
Ans:
Q. 05: Describe the basic icons of Windows operating system.
Ans:
