Learn the computer basics!

So are you one of those who feel as if they had been living under a rock all their life as soon as someone starts talking about that new software. And its not because you haven't installed that software as yet, but because you simply don't have a clue what on earth is a 'software'.

It may sound unbelievable, but its true, while some of us would talk about computer related stuff as use computer technology as if it were a part of our body, there are many out there who though may have heard all the terms, still do not know what they stand for.

While many computer junkies would rarely mention terms like routers or bridges, they would throw words like 'hardware' and 'software' at you all the time. So read on to find out what they mean in order to not feel all that lost when you are surrounded by those who practically eat, sleep and drink computers.

Hardware:

You must have seen a computer system, all the tangible parts of a computer come under the category of 'hardware'. Everything from that screen you see, which is called a monitor by the way, and CPU to keyboard and mouse are known as 'hardware'.

In even simpler terms, everything that you can actually see and touch is called a hardware, provided it is attached to a computer system.

Software:

Software is a program or an application that users run on their systems to perform various tasks. For example MS Word, or Internet Explorer or any other program that is present on the system is categorized as software. Without a software, a computer system is nothing but an empty box.

We require software to various purposes, either for document writing or to make worksheets or to even to produce graphical images. So the moment your system is turned on, the control lies in the hands of different programs that were written in order to make a computer system work.

Operating system:

Now what is an operating system? It is a kind of software. This is very important to understand that all operating systems are softwares. It is what actually makes it easier for you to interact with your computer. They bring it to the ready mode and from there on help you run any software you want.

Do remember that the importance of an operating system lies in the fact that you can not run other softwares if there is no operating system present on your system or it has been damaged. An operating system is a set of programs that can control the hardware of a computer and bring your system into a mode from where it is easier for you to run other applications. Windows, Linux and Unix are all names of the most commonly used operating systems.

Central processing unit (CPU):

Central processing unit, as the name suggests, is that part of your computer system, which does all the processing for you. The main task of a computer is to get data, process it and generate a result. The task in the middle, which is processing, is by far the most important job of the computer. Without processing, nothing would make sense to the user. A chip called microprocessor, which is present on your system, performs this job.

It consists of two very important parts called Arithmetic and logic unit(ALU) and Control unit (CU). In the latter part, all arithmetic and logic functions are performed. All the tasks of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are taken care of by this part. The former part, CU, on the other hand, is responsible for interpreting any instructions it receives from memory and controls the sequence of events required for executing those instructions.

Computer Languages:

So you must be wondering what does it mean by writing a program. How can you write a program for computers. It is obvious that to write a program, you would have to use some language.

Now since your computer doesn't understand simple English commands, there are special computer languages, which are required to develop a software. These language are categorized as high-level and low-level languages.

High-level language is the one, which is easier for the user to understand in the sense that code is usually very close to human language. They do not require the programmer to have detailed knowledge of the internal operations of a computer. C++, Java, Cobol, are some examples of high-level language.

Low-level languages on the other hand can be learnt only if the programmer does have detailed knowledge of hardware specifics. Such languages work on the binary system of 1s and 0s and hence are easier for the computer to interpret.

Apart from these very commonly used terms, which are of immense importance, and somehow computer revolves them, there are still some other which you would hear often. Terms like data, input & output, storage devices etc. So it is advisable to familiarize yourself with these words too.

Data:

Data is now being used in a very wide sense. But actually data is information in its very raw form. It is facts and figures that need to be organized in order to make some sense out of them. in simpler words, data is like different pieces of a puzzle, which must be put together if a picture is to be formed. Data would be useless if it is not assembled together properly.

Input:

The act of 'taking in' the information or data is called input. Input means getting the data from the user which is essential in order to produce a result. The data itself is not the input, it is the act of feeding that data into the computer. For example to make a pay-sheet, you are required to enter different pieces of information such as the worker's name, the numbers of hours he worked etc. these facts and figures are actually data but the process of entering this information into the computer is called input.

Output:

Output on the other hand, is everything that you derive out of the a computer program. The result of the input is called output. When data has been fed into the computer, it will be worked on and a result would be generated, this result is referred to as output.

Storage devices:

Whatever information you have on your computer is saved somewhere. Every software including the operating system plus your various files is all stored in some area from where you can retrieve them whenever you want. This area is a storage place. A fixed storage device is your hard disk. It is where all operating systems reside, where all files are kept and every software is placed. It is a part of your CPU and hence can not be detached.

On the other hand, if you do not want to clutter your hard disk with too many files, what you can do is store them on some secondary storage device such as a floppy disk. A floppy disk in inserted in a place provided specially for it on your CPU. You can have as many floppies as you require though not more than two can be used simultaneously. They are loose assets in the sense that they are not attached to your system. They provide you with more space so you can keep your hard disk free from unnecessary files.

GIGO:

Now GIGO is not an standard term but it is frequently used. GIGO stands for 'garbage in, garbage out'. Which means when you enter something that your computer finds senseless, an equally useless result would be produced. So be careful about what the computer is being fed if you want some serious results.