Fundamentals

1

• Fundamentals
• of
• Computer Processing

2
Computer Sizes

• Mainframes -- the first
• Supercomputers -- the largest
• Minicomputers -- the first effort to achieve
  reduced size
• Microcomputers -- made possible by microprocessor
• PC -- used by one person, or by a few people in
  the same area
• Workstations, lap tops, notebooks, and palmtops

3
The Computer Schematic

• Processor Control unit ALU
• The computer is a closed-loop system

4
The Computer Schematic
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Control Unit
Primary Storage Unit
Output Information
Input Data
Arithmetic and Logic Unit
Secondary Storage Unit
5
Computer History

• Prior to 1950s
• Keydriven machines
• (some were called bookkeeping machines)
• Punched card machines

6
Computer History (continued)

• 1951 -- first commercial computer (a UNIVAC I)
  installed at the Census Burea
• 1954 -- first computer installed in a business
  (another UNIVAC I at GE)
• Early 1970s -- minicomputers
• Late 1970s -- microcomputers (TRS-80, Commodore
  PET)
• 1982 -- IBM PC

7
Primary Storage

• Evolution in storage media
• Magnetic drums
• Magnetic cores
• Integrated circuits (1964)

8
Bits and Bytes (KB, MB)

• RAM and ROM
• Cache memory
• One kilobyte (1KB) is 210 bytes (1,024)
• One megabyte (1MB) is 220 bytes (1,048,576)

9
Input Devices

• Keyboard
• Ergonomic considerations (human engineering,
  human factor considerations)
• QWERTY keyboard vs. Dvorak keyboard

10
Pointing Devices

• Mouse
• Trackball
• Touch screen
• Light pen
• Remote control device

11
Source Data Automation (SDA)

• Input bottleneck
• Optical character recognition (OCR) is big in
  retailing
• Supermarket scanners
• Point of sale (POS) terminals
• Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) was big
  for banks starting in the late 1950s

12
Technologies used for POS Terminals

• Mark readers
• Barcode readers
• Character readers
• Handprint readers

13
Speech Recognition

• Speaker dependent
• Speaker independent

14
Output Devices

• Displayed
• CRT, VDT
• Flat-panel
• Printed
• Speed
• Quality
• Speech (audio response unit)
• digitized or playback

15
Means of Producing Computer Output
Displayed Output Devices
Printers
ABC123
Computer
Speech Output Devices
Plotters
Microfilm
16
Printers
Impact
Nonimpact
Line
Character
Page
Laser
Ink jet
Dot matrix
Daisy wheel
17
Output Devices (continued)

• Plotters
• Flatbed
• Drum
• Microform
• Microfilm (roll)
• Microfiche (sheet)
• Tabular versus graphical versus narrative

18
Software

• Input and output devices communicate directly
  with the manager and are considered to have a
  direct role
• Source data automation devices play an indirect
  role
• Two main types of software -- system and
  application

19
System Software

• Three main types
• operating system
• translators
• utilities

20
Operating System

• Basic functions
• Schedule jobs
• Manage hardware and software resources
• Maintain system security
• Provide for multiprogramming
• Handle interrupts
• Maintain usage records

21
Language TranslatorsSoftware Generations

• First -- machine language
• Second -- assemblers
• Third -- compilers and interpreters
• Procedure-oriented language
• Problem-oriented language
• Fourth -- natural language (4GL)
• Nonprocedural
• Types of 4GLs (example FOCUS)

22
The Program is Translated Before the Data is
Processed

Source Program
1
Translate
2
Object Program
Input Data

Output
23
Fourth-generation Languages Offer Unique
Combinations of Power and User Friendliness
Much
Very high-level languages
Modeling languages
Database Query Language
DSS power
Application generators
Graph generators
Little
Friendly
Unfriendly
User friendliness
24
FOCUS Instructions to Prepare a Report
DEFINE FILE SALES REGION/A12DECODE REGION(NE
NORTH EAST SE SOUTH EAST MW MID WEST MA
MID-ATLANTIC) END TABLE FILE SALES HEADING
CENTER PRODUCT UNIT SALES ANALYSIS lt/1 SUM
UNITS AND ROW-TOTAL AND COLUMN-TOTAL ACROSS
REGION BY PRODNUM AS PRODUCT NUMBER END
25
Application Software

• Custom programming versus prewritten packages
• Four categories of prewritten packages
• 1. General business
• 2. Industry-specific
• 3. Organizational productivity
• GDSS, E-mail, project management, forecasting,
  stat packages

26
Application Software (continued)

• 4. Personal productivity (or application
  development software)
• Word processing
• Spreadsheets
• Graphics
• desktop publishing, etc.
• Direct versus indirect roles of software

27
Application Software
C B I S
Software Type
DP
MIS
OA
ES
DSS
General Business
Industry-specific
Organizational productivity
Personal productivity
28
User Friendliness

• Guided dialog
• Menus
• Form-filling
• Context sensitive help
• Help screen or help messages
• Graphic user interface (GUI)
• Icons, buttons, toolbars, and others

29
Error Control

• Error prevention
• Protected format
• Error detection
• Edit routines
• Error correction
• Edit commands

30
Multimedia

• Combines different forms of computer output,
  allows richer communication
• Began in late 1980s
• Multimedia in business
• accounting information systems (documedia)
• MIS and DSS via graphs, three-dimensional
  graphics and animation
• office automation workgroup computing, desktop
  video
• knowledge-based systems

31
The Multimedia System Development Process
Communications Professionals
Information Specialists
User
Define the problem
Step 1
Design the concept
Step 2
Design the content
Step 3
Write the script
Step 4
Design the graphics
Step 5
Produce the system
Step 6
Conduct user tests
Step 7
Use the system
Step 8
Maintain the system
Step 9