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Computing Basics

You are to complete the following survey (linky) as best you can in class, then the rest of it at home if you don't offhand know all of the answers.

Computer hardware

• 1. Computer Data

     • Computer data is information required by the computer to be able to operate. It is used to:

     • Run programs - This is the actual executable program data that the computer will execute to run the program such as Microsoft Word.

     • Store program or system configuration information.

     • Store information that the computer user needs such as text files or other files that are associated with the program the computer user is running. A common example of a program the computer user is running is the Microsoft Office suite of products which include Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and others. These programs are also known as applications.

  2. Computer Hardware

     • A quick history/illustrated guide to hardware (for you hardware Geeks out there!!!)

     • The term computer hardware refers to the various electronic components that are required for you to use a computer along with the hardware components inside the computer case. As you know your computer equipment is made of several common components. These include:

       • The main computer box.

       • A monitor - Looks like a television screen.

       • A keyboard.

       • A mouse.

       • Speakers.

       • An optional printer

     • The main computer box is the main component of the computer. It has computer hardware parts inside that perform the following functions:

       • Temporary storage of information (known as data in more technical terms) - This function is done by memory.

       • Permanent storage of information - This function is done by a hard disk, tape storage, flash drive, or CD ROM.

       • Manipulation or processing of data - Used to determine where data is stored and perform calculations which support operations that the user is doing.

       • Interfacing to the outside components or to the outside world - This supports the ability for the user to communicate with the computer and know how the computer is responding to commands which are done primarily through the monitor, keyboard, and mouse along with their interface components in the main computer box.

       • A power supply which provides the electrical power to the components in the computer box.

  3. Hardware and Software

     • The term hardware describes the physical parts of your computer which you can physically touch or see such as your monitor, case, disk drives, microprocessor and other physical parts.

     • The term software describes the programs that run on your system (OS/programs)

     • BIOS - how everything inegrates with the physical box.

  4. The nature of the Network

     • From the cables/hardware to the cloud - information is moved around electronic systems.

  5. The internet

     • The word internet is used to describe a network of networks which incorporate a very large and complicated set of equipment.

1. Operating System

   • The operating system is the core software component of your computer. It performs many functions and is, in very basic terms, an interface between your computer and the outside world (usually through drivers).

   • How it works

   • How it can be abused

2. Applications

   • Applications are programs that are installed. on computers to give users the ability to do specific tasks.

   • How they work

   • How they can be abused

3. Files

   • Files are a collection of data onto a permanent storage structure.

     • What they do

     • Characteristics (name, extension, size)

     • type (linked with extension)

     • Date modified

   • File management

4. Security

   • Viruses/Worms

   • Trojans

   • Malware in general (websites/files)

   • How to secure your box

     • firewalls

     • virus/malware scanners

Gated logic in Computer Programming

Logic gates are primarily implemented electronically using diodes or transistors, but can also be constructed using electromagnetic relays (relay logic), fluidic logic, pneumatic logic, optics, molecules, or even mechanical elements

These basic elements include:

Number Systems

A numeral system (or system of numeration) is a writing system for expressing numbers, that is a mathematical notation for representing numbers of a given set, using graphemes or symbols in a consistent manner. It can be seen as the context that allows the symbols "11" to be interpreted as the binary symbol for three, the decimal symbol for eleven, or a symbol for other numbers in different bases. 

At first, it would seem like using any number system other than decimal is complicated and unnecessary. However, since the job of electrical and software engineers is to work with digital circuits, engineers require number systems that can best transfer information between the human world and the digital circuit world and those forms are usually binary, octal, or hexadecimal. It turns out that the way in which a number is represented can make it easier for the engineer to perceive the meaning of the number as it applies to a digital circuit. In other words, the appropriate number system can actually make things less complicated. 

DECIMAL

The decimal counting system comes from the greek prefix ‘dec’ meaning ten. This makes sense to us because humans have 10 fingers to count on, and thus we developed ten digits in which to count: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. If you can recall back to when you first learned math in primary school, we were taught that from 0-9 we are counting in the ‘ones’ column, but 9 is the biggest single digit that we have, so we increment our next column like an odometer, ‘tens’ to one, and then reset our ‘ones’ column back to 0.

This method of counting makes a lot of sense to us because we can count it on our fingers, and to increment to the next unit, we simply add a 0 to the end, and we’ve multiplied by 10 and gone from ones to tens, or tens to hundreds etc.

Binary

(Base 2)

Decimal is great for us, but completely counter to the way a computer works. A computer doesn’t think between 0-9, it thinks in either ON or OFF, HIGH or LOW, 1 or 0. This is due to the way that the silicon hardware works, a transistor can either turn on or off, it can’t be in between. Which brings us to the binary counting system.

A Binary Number is made up of only 0s and 1s.

110100

Example of a Binary Number

There is no 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 in Binary!

A "bit" is a single binary digit. 

Binary numbers have many uses in mathematics and beyond.

How do we Count using Binary?

The maximum range for an 8-bit binary number is 256 values (or 0-255)

HEXADECIMAL

‘What?!’ I hear you say? If computers work best in binary, why do we need to use another counting system? It’s a great question and there are a few different reasons why hexadecimal is commonly used in computing systems.

Hexadecimal is much easier for humans to interpret than binary, its closer to our base 10 counting logic than binary is. It’s also requires far less digits to represent a number than both binary and decimal, and isn’t overly hard for computers to understand.

Before we can take a look at why hexadecimal is great to use, we need to understand how it works first. Our plain old decimal system is known as base-10 counting, binary is known as base-2 counting, and hexadecimal is known as base-16 counting. Instead of stopping at 9 (our 10th unique digit) to increment the next column, hexadecimal uses 16 unique digits to represent the numbers 0-15. Except we only have 0-9, so we use A, B, C, D, E, and F for the numbers 10-15. Hexadecimal is represented with either ‘0x’ or ‘h’ before the number.

e.g. 0x 1C8