Information Technology
Introduction
• Information technology (IT) is the use of any computers, storage,
networking and other physical devices, infrastructure and processes to create, process, store, secure and exchange all forms of electronic data.
• The term is commonly used as a synonym for computers and computer networks, but it also encompasses other information distribution
technologies such as television and telephones.
Advantages
• Increases production and saves time.
• Improves communication
• Improves data storage and file management.
• Improves financial management: Business owners can easily balance their books with less experience in accounting because these software’s are well equipped with every tool needed in accounting.
• Cuts costs of operation– Communication technology and social
technology have made business promotion and product launch affordable.
Many small business have found ways to use social technology
• Availability of Information.
Information Systems
• An organized system of people and computers in order to collect, organize, store and distribute information with a specific objective.
• Any specific information system aims to support operations, management and decision-making.
Components of Information System
Hardware - Physical parts/components/devices like the processor, monitor, processor, printer etc.
Software- The set of instructions to instruct the hardware Databases- To store data in the form of files or tables.
Networks- Connects various hardware devices for information exchange.
Procedures- Set of commands to combine different components for processing
Classic view of Information System
Types of Information Systems
• Enterprise Resource Planning
• Expert Systems
• Search Engines
• Geographic Information System
• Office Automation
• Data Warehouses
Enterprise Resource Planning
• It is an attempt to integrate all functions across a company to a single computer system that can serve all those functions’ specific needs.
Expert Systems
• An expert system is a computer system that acts in all respects, with the decision- making capabilities of a human expert.
Search Engines
• A software system to search information on the World Wide Web.
• Search results A mix of web pages, images, and other types of files
Computer
• A computer is an automatic, electronic and programmable device that can instruct hardware to carry out arbitrary sequences of arithmetic, logical and other operations in order to convert given input into desired output. It has ability to store, retrieve and process data. It usually consists of input, output, storage, CPU (arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and control unit (CU).
Basic Functions of Computer
Components of a Computer
Computer Hardware
• Physical components of a computer, such as CPU, Memory, Input and Output devices, Auxiliary storage devices.
• The hardware components include devices that perform the functions of accepting input, processing, data storage and generating output.
• Hardware is directed by the software to execute any instruction.
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Control Unit
• This unit controls the operations of all parts of the computer but does not carry out any actual data processing operations.
• It is responsible for controlling the transfer of data and instructions among other units of a computer.
• It obtains the instructions from the memory, interprets them, and directs the operation of the computer.
• It communicates with Input / Output devices for transfer of data or results from storage.
Arithmetic/logic unit (ALU):
• Arithmetic operations: It performs arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. All complex operations are done by making repetitive use of the above operations.
• Logic Operations: It also performs logical functions like comparing, selecting, and merging of data.
Input Device
• In computing, an input device is hardware equipment used to accept data and control signals from a user/device.
● This unit contains devices with the help of which we enter data into the computer.
● This unit creates a link between the user and the computer.
● The input devices translate the information into a form understandable by the computer
Input Devices
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Joy Stick
• Light pen
• Digitizer or Graphic Tablet
• Track Ball
• Scanner
• Microphone
• Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)
• Optical Character Reader (OCR)
• Bar Code Reader
• Optical Mark Reader (OMR)
Input Devices
Output Devices
● An output device consists of devices with the help of which we get the information from the computer.
● This unit is a link between the computer and the users.
● Output devices translate the computer's output into a form understandable by the users.
● Monitor
● Printer
Memory Unit
● Computer memory is any physical device capable of storing information temporarily or permanently.
● Primary memory
● Secondary memory
Primary memory
● Every computer has a temporary storage built into the computer hardware
● It stores instructions and data of a program mainly when the program is being executed by the CPU.
● This temporary storage is known as main memory, primary storage, or simply memory
Secondary Memory
● Used in a computer system to overcome the limitations of primary storage
● Has virtually unlimited capacity because the cost of storage is very low
● Has an operating speed far slower than that of the primary storage
● Used to store large volumes of data on a permanent basis
● Also known as auxiliary memory
Secondary Memory
Software
• Software is a set of programs, designed to perform a well-defined function.
• A program is a sequence of instructions written to solve a particular problem.
• There are two types of software -
• System Software
• Application Software
System Software
• The system software is a collection of programs designed to operate, control, and extend the processing capabilities of the computer itself.
• System software is generally prepared by the computer manufacturers.
• These software products comprise of programs written in low-level languages, which interact with the hardware at a very basic level.
System Software
• System software serves as the interface between the hardware and the end users.
• Some examples of system software are Operating Systems, Compilers etc.
Features of a system software
• Close to the system
• Fast in speed
• Difficult to design
• Difficult to understand
• Less interactive
• Difficult to manipulate
• Generally written in low-level language
Application software
• Application software products are designed to satisfy a particular need of a particular environment.
• All software applications prepared in the computer lab can come under the category of Application software.
• Application software may consist of a single program, or may also consist of a collection of programs, often called a software package, which work
together to accomplish a task.
Application software
• Application software may consist of a single program, or may also consist of a collection of programs, often called a software package, which work together to accomplish a task.
Features of an application software
• Close to the user
• Easy to design
• More interactive
• Slow in speed
• Generally written in high-level language
• Easy to understand
• Easy to manipulate and use
• Bigger in size and requires large storage space
GUI
• Short for Graphical User Interface, a GUI allows the use
of icons or other visual indicators to interact with electronic devices, rather than using only text via the command line.
• For example, all versions of Microsoft Windows utilize a GUI, whereas MS-DOS does not.
• Benefits-
• No need to memorize commands
• Easier to use
• Interactive
Office Suites
• An office suite is a collection of productivity software usually containing a word processor , spreadsheet and a presentation program.
• There are many different brands and types of office suites. Popular office suites include:
• Microsoft Office
• Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides
• Apache OpenOffice
• LibreOffice
Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Office is an office suite of applications developed by Microsoft.
Google Docs
• Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides are a word
processor, a spreadsheet and a presentation program respectively, all part of a free, web-based software office suite offered by Google within
its Google Drive service.
Open Office
• Apache OpenOffice (AOO) is also an open-source office productivity software suite developed by Apache Software Foundation.
Libre Office
• LibreOffice is a free and open source office suite, a project of The Document Foundation.
Utility Programs
• A system software designed to help analyse, configure, optimize
or maintain a computer. It is used to support the computer
infrastructure in contrast to application software, which is
aimed at directly performing tasks that benefit ordinary users.
Utility Programs
1. Hardware Utilities: Hardware utilities can check the status of all parts of the PC, including hard disks, memory, modems, speakers and printers.
2. Security utilities: These software can constantly monitor and protect the computer. Anti virus and anti spyware software comes in this category.
3. File-Compression Utilities: These utilities can reduce the amount of disk space required to store a file or reduce the time it takes to transfer a file over the internet. Zip file, MP3 files comes in this category.
