Preface

Computers play a key role in our everyday lives. In addition to communication media like television, radio and newspaper, we now have another communication medium, i.e. computers. We use computers to e-mail, to chat, for the Internet browsing, for teleconferencing, for video conferencing, etc. We also use them for e-learning, e-commerce, e-banking, e-governance, e-ticketing and for many more things. And the interesting part is, while we interact with the other media like television, radio, newspaper, etc. to merely get information, the interaction in computers is two ways—we can be a creator as well as a user. We may use a computer as a medium to get more information, as a tool to perform certain activities, or as an integral part of another component.

The fundamentals of computers are the stepping stones to computer science. Nowadays, all courses, related and unrelated to computer science, require using a computer. Knowledge of the basics of computers has become a fundamental requirement, in whatever area we choose to study or follow professionally. Computer fundamentals are also an introductory course to a more advanced study of computer science.

ABOUT THE BOOK

This book is written with the aim of introducing the fundamentals of computers to the reader. Attention has been paid to include chapters that are required by the students studying different courses. The book deals with both the theoretical concepts and the practicals. The unique features of this book are as follows:

• Style of Writing
  • The language used in the book is lucid, is easy to understand, and facilitates easy grasping of concepts.
  • The chapters have been logically arranged in sequence.
  • The book is written in a reader-friendly manner both for the students and the teachers.
  • Most of the content presented in the book is in the form of bullets, organized sequentially. This form of presentation, rather than in a paragraph form, facilitates the reader to view, understand and remember the points better.
  • The explanation is supported by diagrams, pictures and images wherever required.
  • Sufficient exercises have been included for practice in addition to the solved examples.
  • The questions at the end of the chapter are given section-wise. It is easier for the reader to find answers for the section-wise questions in a particular section rather than the whole book.
• Content of Book—Theory (Chapters 1–14)
  • Several latest topics have been included in the book. Some of these topics are
    • USB, Zip disk, Flash memory
    • Wireless networking
    • Notebook, Netbook, PDA, smartphones
    • Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP)
    • Imparting education via multimedia
    • Cryptography, Digital signature, Firewall, Biometrics
    • System clock, BIOS, CMOS, SIMM & DIMM memory module
  • In the theory chapters (Chapters 1–14), the theory is supported with the practical information like, the name of supercomputer of India, how to create mp3 file from CD, what is a streaming video and understanding machine configuration.
  • This book does not discuss in detail the old technologies that have become too common or are no longer used, like, about keys in a keyboard, magnetic tape, using mouse, drum printers and message switching.
  • Several colored inserts in the book provide a colored view of the photographs.
• Content of Book—Practical (Chapters 15–21) and Appendix
  • This book describes MS-Office with the latest commercially available version, version 2007.
  • This book includes description of Windows Vista and Windows 7 in addition to the detailed description of Windows XP.
  • The solved examples in the MS-Office chapters are described step—wise.
  • A long list of practical exercises is provided at the end of each chapter.
  • Some chapters contain topics that are new to a book on computers. These chapters are
    • Chapter 11—Information Systems
    • Chapter 12—Fundamentals of Database
    • Chapter 14—Computer Security
    • Chapter 19—MS-Access
    • Chapter 20—Network and Internet Connections
    • Chapter 21—Using LaTeX
    • Appendix D—Assembling a PC.

TARGET AUDIENCE

This book has been written keeping in mind the readers familiar and not-so familiar with computers. Several chapters have been included that cover the syllabi of different universities in India. The book is well suited for the following target audience:

• Computer science students undergoing a course in computer science—DCA, MCA, BSc(Gen), BSc(Hons), MSc(IT), BSc(IT), BCA, DOEACC level courses.
• Engineering students of first year—BTech, BE.
• Science students pursuing BSc in physics, chemistry, botany, zoology and mathematics.
• Non-science students pursuing BCom(P), BCom(Hons), BA(P), BDP, BBA, MBA, BBE
• Students enrolled in short-term courses on IT in polytechnics, training institutes, Technical Institutes.
• Any learner interested in computer science.

STRUCTURE OF THE TEXT

The book follows a structured and modular design, to facilitate the instructor in the teaching of the course and the students in the reading of the book. Figure 1 shows the design of the book. The following paragraphs present a brief review of the four units of the book.

Unit I comprises five chapters. This unit introduces the reader to the computer as a machine. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to computers—their evolution, types and applications. Chapter 2 discusses organization of the computer, different parts inside a computer case and their interaction. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the memory hierarchy, different kinds of memory of the computer and storage devices that are required for storing large quantities of data. The different devices that are used for providing input to the computer, and the presentation of output from the computer are discussed in Chapter 4. The computer uses the binary number system; Chapter 5 discusses binary coding schemes, logic gates, and the representation and conversion of numbers in the binary, octal and hexadecimal number system.

Figure 1 Modular structure of text

Unit II comprises five chapters. This unit focusses on the interaction of user and computer, and the Internet. Chapter 6 provides a description of the system software and the application software. Chapter 7 describes the operating system in detail. The writing of the programming logic and the different programming paradigms are discussed in Chapter 8. Chapters 9 and 10 relate to networking and the Internet. Chapter 9 discusses computer networks and the communication of data across the network. The Internet and its services are detailed in Chapter 10.

Unit III contains four chapters. This unit is about applications and security. Chapter 11 describes the information systems. This chapter is included bearing in mind the non-science courses. For teaching this paper in a science course, you may skip this chapter. The fundamentals of databases are discussed in Chapter 12. Chapter 13 describes the different elements of the multimedia system—text, audio, graphics, video and animation. Chapter 14 on computer security discusses the security attacks, and the way to handle them.

Unit IV consists of seven chapters. This unit is designed for the computer practicals. A detailed discussion on Windows XP is provided in Chapter 15, including a brief description about Windows Vista and Windows 7. Chapters 16 through 19 are about the four main components of MS-Office 2007, i.e. MS-Word, MS-Excel, MS-Powerpoint and MS-Access. Chapter 20 is about Network and the Internet connections. This chapter facilitates the reader in the creation and managing of computer network and the Internet connection. Chapter 21 is about using LaTeX which is used for the production of publication-quality typeset documents.

PEDAGOGICAL FEATURES

Pedagogy is the art and science of how something is taught and how students learn it. How the teaching occurs, the approach to teaching and learning, the way the content is delivered and what the students learn as a result of the process are all included in pedagogy. The following are the pedagogical features in this book:

• Start-of-Chapter Aids
  • Contents—An overall view of the topics discussed in the chapter is provided, at the beginning of each chapter.
  • Why this chapter—It describes the need of including this chapter in computer fundamentals and why one should read it.
• In-Between Chapter Aids
  • Visualization— “A picture is worth a thousand words” is a famous quote. This book supports the concepts with figures, diagrams and images to facilitate visualization.
  • Bulleted text—The book follows a bulleted approach of writing the text in contrast to the long paragraphs. The bulleted text approach is easier to read, understand and grasp.
• End-of-Chapter Aids
  • Summary—It reviews the major concepts discussed in the chapter.
  • Keywords—A list of keywords at the end of each chapter facilitates in locating a topic in the chapter.
  • Questions—The questions at the end of each chapter are given section-wise. The reader has to search for the answers in this section, rather than the complete chapter.
  • Extra questions—At the end of each chapter, the extra questions from the complete chapter are given in the form of short notes, abbreviations and differences.
  • Colored inserts—A first initiative in a book on this topic, the colored inserts provide the reader with actual images in colour.

FEEDBACK

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