1. CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF COMPUTERS AND PROGRAMMING
By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:
Describes the concept of computer basic including hardware, system software and application software.
Apply and practice the software development method.
Explain the programming language ranges from machine language to high level language.
Describe the processes of entering, translating and running a high -level language program.
Hanly, Koffman, C Problem Solving and Program Design in C, Fifth Edition, Pearson International Edition. Refer chapter 1 (Pg 1 – 28)
Reference...
Prepared By: Pn. Nik Maria Nik Mahamood (Coordinator DDC 1012)
Prepared by: Pn. Nik Maria Nik Mahamood

2. This chapter introduces to:
Introduction
Computer Hardware
Computer Software
The Software Development Method
Applying the Software Development Method

3. INTRODUCTION The Computer Defined
Computer is an electronic device – a flexible machine that can manipulates data.
A computer is programmable; that is what the computer does depends on the program the computer is using.
A Computer is a machine that can receive, store, transform and output data of all kinds.
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A program is a list of instruction telling computer what to do.

4. Notebook Computer(ThinkPad®, Courtesy of IBM).
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Figure 1.1
The Intel Pentium 4 Processor chip is an integrated circuit containing the full circuitry of a central processing unit. This processor can execute a simple instruction such as an integer addition in one six-billionth of a second.
Source: This figure is taken from Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2007.
Figure 1.2
Notebook Computer(ThinkPad®,
Courtesy of IBM). 
(b) Palmtop Computer (Sony Clié PDA ®,
Courtesy of Sony). 
(c) Desktop Computer (IBM NetVista Desktop, Courtesy of IBM).
Source: This figure is taken from Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2007.

5. A computer’s hardware – the machine and its components – is designed to be flexible as possible.
By using computer programs, called software, you transform this flexible hardware into a tool for a specific purpose.
Computer system has three basic components, which are:
Hardware, software and people.

6. COMPUTER HARDWARE Figure 1.3 Components of a Computer FOR MORE INFO...
Source: This figure is taken from Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2007.
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Components of a computer : main memory, secondary storage, Central Processing Unit (CPU), Input devices and Output devices.

7. Memory Is main memory - an essential component in any computer.
Stores programs, data and result.
Most computers have two types of memory:
Random access memory (RAM)
Read only memory (ROM)
RAM
offers temporary storage of programs and data.
representing a collection of numbered cells for storage of instructions and data of all kinds; cells can be accessed in any order.
is volatile; everything in RAM will be lost when the computer is switched off.

8. Memory (cont’..)
ROM
offers stores information permanently within the computer.
Computer can retrieve (or read) but cannot store (or write) information in ROM.
is not volatile; the data stored do not disappear when the computer is switched off.
Start-up instructions and other critical instructions are burned into ROM chips.
When we refer to main memory, we mean RAM because that is the part of main memory is normally accessible to the programmer.
All data stored in memory are represented digitally.
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Digital representation ~ binary numbers made up of digits 0 and 1.

9. Secondary Storage
Unit such as disks or tapes that retain data even when the power to the disk drive or tape drive is off.
Computer systems provide storage in addition to main memory because of two reasons:
Computer needs storage that is permanent; information can be retained during a power loss or the computer is turned off.
Computer systems typically store more information than will fit in memory.
Figure 1.4 Secondary Storage Media Source: This figure is taken from Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2007

10. Central Processing Unit
Data processing done by Central Processing Unit (CPU).
CPU – the brain of a computer. It transforms data from one form to another.
The CPU is composed of two parts:
Control Unit
Coordinates and controls all the other parts of computer system.
The control unit even oversees the operations of the input and output devices.
Arithmetic Unit
Does the actual processing by performing mathematical operations and logic comparisons.
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Microprocessor ~ an entire CPU on a single chip
Register ~ high speed memory location inside the CPU

11. You can enter data into the computer in many ways.
Input Devices
You can enter data into the computer in many ways.
The most commonly used input devices are
Keyboards:
Pointing devices such as mouse, trackball, Joysticks, Touch-sensitive screen, pen-based systems.
Scanners such as Magnetic Ink character Recognition (MICR)
Voice Recognition such as Voice User Interface(VUI).

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Figure 1.5 Example of keyboard for IBM-Type Computers Source: This figure is taken from Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2007

13. Output Devices Most output can be divided into two categories Softcopy
Is ideal when you are writing a document, playing game, watching video clip or reading the latest news.
Is temporary. There nothing solid to hold.
Can transfer softcopy to a disk to transport it.
Hardcopy
Can be touched and carried
Some form of paper.

14. The most commonly used output devices are
Monitors
Printers
Audio output
Plotters
Microfilm
CDROM
Diskette

15. The most widely used aspect of internet is the www.
Computer Networks
Computers can communicate with one another via networks.
LAN connects computers and other devices; allowing them to share information and resources such as printers, scanners, and secondary storage devices.
WAN is a network that links many individual computer and local area networks over a large geography area.
The most well know WAN, the internet, connects university, corporate, government and public-access networks.
The most widely used aspect of internet is the www.
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LAN ~ Local Area Network; WAN ~ Wide Area Network
WWW ~ World Wide Web

16. Source: This figure is taken from Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2007
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Figure 1.6 Local Area Network Source: This figure is taken from Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2007
Figure 1.7 A Wide Area Network with Satellite Relays of Microwave Signals
Source: This figure is taken from Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2007

17. COMPUTER SOFTWARES
Software is a computer programs. It refers to any program that tells the computer systems what to do
Software is composed to two types:
System software
Application Software
Computer need software to function.
System software integrates the computer’s hardware components and provides tools for day-to-day maintenance tasks such as displaying a list of the files contained on a disk
Examples of system software:
Operating system : To manage computer system. Examples: MS-DOS, Unix, Microsoft Windows

18. Operating System Application Software
The collection of computer program that control the interaction of the user and the computer hardware is called operating system (OS).
Below is a list of OS responsibilities:
Booting computer
Communicating with the computer user
Collecting input from the input devices
Conveying program output to the output devices
Accessing data from secondary storage
Writing data to secondary storage.
Application Software
Turns the computer into a tool for a specific tasks, such as writing.
Not all application programs will prove useful to you.

19. Application programs are develop to assist a computer users in accomplishing specific tasks.
Some application programs are special-purpose programs, which perform a specific task for a single profession.
For examples safety managers use a program that prints records of occupation-related injuries and illness in a format required by federal regulatory bureau.
Other application programs are general-purpose programs.
Commonly used general-purpose programs include the following Word processing, Desktop processing, Electronic spreadsheet, Database, Presentation, Graphic software,Telecommunications software

20. COMPUTER LANGUAGES Consists of two types: Low level language
is to program a computer system for targeting the maximum effective from the use of a specific machine.
Examples machine language, assembly language
Advantage – the implementation is more faster; can be extremely efficient, making optimum use of both computer memory and processing time
Disadvantages – difficult to use, machine dependent, need to know the architecture of machine

21. High level language
to program applications for scientist, data processing, words processing etc.
Examples: C, C++, Java, Fortran, Cobol etc
Thus before a high-level language program can be executed, it must first be translated into the target computer’s machine language.
The program that does this translation is called compiler.
Advantage: faster development of large programs, machine independent, easy to understand – uses simple English words, no need to know machine architecture.
Disadvantage: the implementation is slower.

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Figure Entering, Translating, and Running a High-Level Language Program Source: This figure is taken from Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2007

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Figure 1.9 Flow of Information During Program Execution Source: This figure is taken from Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2007

25. THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT METHOD
Programmers use the software development method for creating software or system computer
Software development method
Step 1: Specify the problem requirements.
Step 2: Analyze the problem
Step 3: Design the algorithm to solve the
problem
Step 4: Implement the algorithm
Step 5: Test and verify the completed program
Step 6: Maintain and update the program.
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See page 21 – 24

26. Specify the problem requirements
Forces you to state the problem clearly and un-ambiguously and to gain a clear understanding of what is required for its solution.
Analyze the problem
Involves identifying the problems including input, output, constraints and formula
Design the algorithm
Requires you to develop a list of steps called an algorithm to solve the problem and then verify that the algorithm solves the problem as intended.

27. Implementation the algorithm
Involves writing it as a program.
You must convert each algorithm step into one or more statements in a programming languages.
Testing and Verifying the programs
Requires testing the completed program to verify that it works as desired.
Do not rely on just one test case. Run a program several times using different sets of data.
Maintenance and updating the program
Involves modifying a program to remove previously undetected errors and to keep it up-to-date as government regulations or company policies change.

28. APPLYING THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT METHOD
Use the first three steps of the software development method to solve problem in case study given
Case Study: Converting Miles to Kilometers
“Your summer surveying job requires you to study some maps that give distances kilometers and some that use miles. You and your co-workers prefer to deal in metric measurements. “
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See Page 25 – 27 for this case study. Discuss!

29. DISCUSSION
Why university curricula for engineers and scientist include in solving problems using a general-purpose programming language such as C?
Discuss !!