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FUNDAMENTALS OF
COMPUTER SYSTEMS

DR. F. O. BOATENG
Contents 1-2

1.1 Introduction
1.2 Hardware and Software
1.3 How Computers Store
Data
1.4 How Program Works
1.5 Types of Software
1.1 Introduction 1-3

 People use computers at…

 School for preparing documents, research,
email, online classes, etc.
 Work for analyzing data, making
presentations, business transactions,
communicating, controlling machines, etc.
 Home for paying bills, shopping online,
communicating, playing computer games,
etc.
What are some of the ways you use
computers?
1.1 Introduction 1-4

 Devices that are computers…

Cell Phones
iPods
Blackberries
Tablets
Car navigation system (GPS)

Think of some other devices that

are computers?
1.1 Introduction 1-5

 Computers are designed to do any job

that their programs tell them to do.
• A program is a set of instructions that a
computer follows to perform a task.
• For example: Microsoft Word and
PowerPoint
 Programs are commonly referred to as
software.
What software have you used?
1.1 Introduction 1-6

 Programmers or Software
Developers are the individuals that
create computer software.
 They have the training and skill to
design, create, and test computer
programs.

What are some of the fields in which

computer programs are used?
1.2 Hardware and
Software
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Concept:

The physical devices that a computer is

made of are referred to as the
computer’s hardware.

The programs that run on a computer

are referred to as software.
1.2 Hardware and
Software
1-8

Hardware
 The
physical devices that a computer is
made of are referred to as the
computer’s hardware.
Acomputer is a system of devices that
work together.
1.2 Hardware and
Software 1-9

Hardware
A Computer System consists of:
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Main memory
Secondary storage
Input devices
Output devices
Figure 1-2 Typical components
of a computer system
1.2 Hardware and
Software
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Hardware
 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The CPU is the part of a computer that
runs the programs.
Without a CPU a computer cannot run
software.
 Running or executing a program is the
term used when the computer performs
the tasks that the program tells it to do.
1.2 Hardware and
Software
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Hardware Figure 1-3 The ENIAC computer

(courtesy of U.S. Army Historic Computer Images)

ENIAC
World’s
first programmable
computer
Built in 1945
Designed to calculate artillery
ballistic tables for the U.S.
Army
Figure 1-4
CPU was 8 feet tall, 100 feet A lab technician
holds a modern
long, and weighed 30 tons microprocessor
(photo courtesy of Intel
Microprocessor Corporation)

Much smaller
1.2 Hardware and
Software
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Main Memory
Considered the computer’s work area
Computer stores the program that is
running as well as the data
Commonly known as the random-access
memory (RAM)
Data is quickly accessed
RAM is a volatile type of memory
Used for temporary storage
RAM is erased when computer is turned off
1.2 Hardware and
Software
Secondary Storage Devices
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Type of memory that can hold data for long periods

of time.
Programs and important data are stored in
secondary storage
Disk drive is a common type of secondary storage
Data is stored by magnetically encoding it
onto a circular disk
Most computers have an internal disk drive
Some have external disk drives; they are used to
create backup copies
1.2 Hardware and
Software
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Secondary Storage Devices

USB drives are small devices that plug
into the computer’s universal serial bus
(USB) port
It does not contain a disk
The data is stored on flash memory
Also known as memory sticks and flash
drives
Inexpensive, reliable, and small
1.2 Hardware and
Software
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Secondary Storage Devices

Optical devices (CD or DVD)
Data is encoded as a series of pits on
the disc’s surface
Uses laser to encode the data
Holds large amounts of data
Good medium for creating backups
1.2 Hardware and
Software
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Secondary Storage Devices

Floppy drives record data onto a small
floppy disk
Holds only a small amount of data
Slow to access data
Can be unreliable
1.2 Hardware and Software 1-17

Input Devices
Any data the computer collects from people and
from other devices is called input.
The hardware component that collects the data is
called an input device.
Common input devices are:
Keyboard

Mouse

Scanner

Microphone

Digital camera
Can you think of any other input devices?
1.2 Hardware and
Software
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Output Devices
Any data the computer produces for people
or for other devices is called output.
The hardware component that formats and
presents the data is called an output device.
Common output devices are:
monitor
Printer

Think of any other output devices?

1.2 Hardware and
Software
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Software
• Everything a computer does is controlled
by software.
• Two categories of software:
 System software
 Application software
1.2 Hardware and
Software
System Software
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• Programs that control and manage the basic

operations of a computer are referred to as system
software.
• Includes the following types:
 Operating System controls the internal
operations of the computer’s hardware and
manages all of the devices connected to the
computer.
 Utility Programs perform a specialized task that
enhances the computer’s operation or safeguards
data.
 Software Developments Tools are programs that
are used to create, modify, and test software.
1.2 Hardware and Software 1-21

Application Software
• Programs that people normally spend most of
their time running on their computers
performing everyday tasks are referred to as
application software.
• For example:
 Word processing
 Spreadsheet
 Database
 Presentation
Think of any other application
1.3 How Computers Store
Data
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Concept:

All data that is stored in a computer is

converted to sequences of 0s and 1s.
1.3 How Computers Store
Data 1-23
• A computer’s memory is divided into tiny storage
locations known as bytes
• One byte represents one number
• A byte is divided into eight smaller storage
locations known as bits (binary digits)
• Bits are tiny electrical components that can hold
either a positive or a negative charge.
• A positive charge is similar to a switch in the on
position
• A negative charge is similar to a switch in the off
position
Figure 1-6 Think of a byte as eight
switches
1.3 How Computers Store
Data 1-24

Storing Numbers
• The positive charge or the on
position is represented by the
digit 1
• The negative charge or the off
position is represented by the
digit 0
• This corresponds to the binary
numbering system where all Figure 1-8 The values
numeric values are written as of binary digits as
a sequence of 0s and 1s powers of 2

• Each digit in a binary number

has a value assigned to it
1.3 How Computers Store
Data
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Storing Numbers
For example:
Figure 1-10 Determining Figure 1-11 The bit
the value of 10011101 pattern for 157
1.3 How Computers Store
Data
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Storing Numbers
• The largest value that can be stored in a byte
with eight bits is 255
• Two bytes are used for larger numbers;
maximum value is 65535
Figure 1-12 Two bytes used for a large number
1.3 How Computers Store
Data
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Storing Characters
 Characters are stored in the computer’s
memory as binary number
 ASCII (American Standard Code for
Information Interchange) is a coding
scheme

Figure 1-13 The letter A is stored in memory as the number 65

1.3 How Computers Store
Data
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Storing Characters
 ASCII is a set of 128 numeric codes
 ASCII is limited
 Unicode is an extensive encoding
scheme
• It is compatible with ASCII
• It represents characters for many
languages in the world
1.3 How Computers Store
Data
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Advanced Number Storage

 Binary numbering system can be used to
represent only integer numbers
 Negative numbers are encoded using two’s
complement
 Real numbers are encoded using floating-
point notation
1.3 How Computers Store Data 1-30

Other Types of Data

 Digital data is data that is stored in binary
 A digital device is any device that works
with binary data
 Digital images are composed of tiny dots of
color known as pixels (picture elements)
 Digital sound is broken into small pieces
known as samples
1.4 How a Program Works 1-31

Concept:

A computer’s CPU can only understand

instructions that are written in machine
language.

Because people find it very difficult to write

entire programs in machine language, other
programming languages have been invented.
1.4 How a Program Works 1-32

 CPU is the most important component in a

computer
 CPU is not a brain
 CPU is not smart
 CPU is an electronic device that is
designed to do specific things.
1.4 How a Program Works 1-33

CPU is designed to perform the following

operations:
 Read a piece of data from main memory
 Adding two numbers
 Subtracting one number from another number
 Multiplying two numbers
 Dividing one number by another number
 Moving a piece of data from one memory
location to another
 Determining whether one value is equal to
another value
1.4 How a Program Works 1-34

 CPU only understands instructions

written in machine language
 Machine language instructions are
written in 1s and 0s
 The entire set of instructions that a CPU
can execute is known as the CPU’s
instruction set
 Each brand of microprocessors (Intel,
Advance Micro Devices (AMD), and
Motorola) has a unique instruction set
1.4 How a Program Works 1-35

 Fetch-decode-execute cycle is the term

used when the CPU executes the
instructions in a program.
 The cycle consist of three steps:
 Fetch
 Decode
 Execute

Figure 1-16
The fetch-decode-
execute cycle
 1.4 How a Program Works 1-36

From Machine Language to Assembly

Language
 Computers only understand machine language
 Machine language is difficult to write
 Assembly language uses short words that are known
as mnemonics
 Assembler is used to translate an assembly language
program to machine language
Figure 1-17
An assembler translates
an assembly language
program to a machine
language program
1.4 How a Program Works 1-37

High-Level Languages
 Assembly language is referred to as a low-
level language.
E.g. Assembly and Machine languages
 High-level languages allow you to create
powerful and complex programs without
knowing how the CPU works, using words that
are easy to understand.
For example: Java, C++, Python, Visual Basic,
C#, Ada, Fortran
Do you know of any other high-level
computer programming languages?
1.4 How a Program Works 1-38

Key Words, Operators, and Syntax: an

Overview
 Key words or reserved words have specific
meaning and purpose in the programming
language
 Operators perform various operations on data
 Syntax is a set of rules that must be strictly
followed when writing a program
 Statements are individual instructions written
in a programming language
1.4 How a Program Works 1-39

Compilers and Interpreters

 The statements written in a high-level
language are called source code or simply
code
 Source code is translated to machine
language using a compiler or an interpreter
 Syntax error is a mistake such as a:
• Misspelled word
• Missing punctuation character
• Incorrect use of an operator
1.4 How a Program Works
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Compilers and Interpreters

 Compiler is a program that translates a high-
level language program into a separate
machine language program

Figure 1-18 Compiling a high-level program and executing it

1.4 How a Program Works 1-41

Compilers and Interpreters

 An interpreter is a program that both
translates and executes the instructions in a
high-level language program
Figure 1-19 Executing a high-level program with an interpreter
Program Errors 1-42

 Syntax Errors:
• Errors in grammar of the language
 Runtime error:
• When there are no syntax errors, but the
program can’t complete execution
• Divide by zero
• Invalid input data
 Logical errors:
• The program completes execution, but
delivers incorrect results
• Incorrect usage of parentheses
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THANK
YOU