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Basics of computers:
A BRIEF COMPUTER HISTORY

The computer as we know it today had its

beginning with a 19th century English
mathematics professor name Charles
Babbage.
He designed the Analytical Engine and it
was this design that the basic framework of
the computers of today are based on.
Generally speaking, computers can be
classified into three generations. Each
generation lasted for a certain period of
time, and each gave us either a new and
improved computer or an improvement to
the existing computer.

First generation: 1937 1946 - In

1937 the first electronic digital computer
was built by Dr. John V. Atanasoff and
Clifford Berry. It was called the AtanasoffBerry Computer (ABC). In 1943 an
electronic computer name the Colossus was
built for the military. Other developments
continued until in 1946 the first general
purpose digital computer, the Electronic
Numerical Integrator and Computer
(ENIAC) was built. It is said that this
computer weighed 30 tons, and had 18,000
vacuum tubes which was used for
processing. When this computer was turned
on for the first time lights dim in sections of
Philadelphia. Computers of this generation
could only perform single task, and they had
no operating system.

Second generation: 1947 1962 - This

generation of computers used transistors
instead of vacuum tubes which were more
reliable. In 1951 the first computer for
commercial use was introduced to the
public; the Universal Automatic Computer
(UNIVAC 1). In 1953 the International
Business Machine (IBM) 650 and 700 series

computers made their mark in the computer

world. During this generation of computers
over 100 computer programming languages
were developed, computers had memory and
operating systems. Storage media such as
tape and disk were in use also were printers
for output.

Third generation: 1963 - present The invention of integrated circuit brought

us the third generation of computers. With
this invention computers became smaller,
more powerful more reliable and they are
able to run many different programs at the
same time. In1980 Microsoft Disk Operating
System (MS-Dos) was born and in 1981
IBM introduced the personal computer (PC)
for home and office use. Three years later
Apple gave us the Macintosh computer with
its icon driven interface and the 90s gave us
Windows operating system.
As a result of the various improvements to
the development of the computer we have
seen the computer being used in all areas of
life. It is a very useful tool that will continue
to experience new development as time
passes.
Fundamentals:
A computer is an electronic machine that
accepts data, stores and processes data into
information. The computer is able to work
because there are instructions in its memory
directing it.
The parts of the computer that you can see
and touch, such as the keyboard, monitor
and the mouse are called hardware. The
instructions that direct the computer are
called software or computer program.
Data which is raw facts that you the user
enter into the computer is called input. This
includes; words, numbers, sound and

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pictures. When the data is entered into the

computer, the computer processes the data
to produce information which is output. For
example, you enter 2+2 into the computer as
data, the computer processes it and the result
is 4 which is information.

Computers are usually categories into

three general categories:
1. Supercomputer The fastest, largest,
most powerful and most expensive
computer.
2. Mainframe Computer This is a little
smaller and less powerful than the
supercomputer, but, like the supercomputer
it is also expensive.
3. Personal Computer (PC) - This is the
computer that most people use in their daily
lives. This computer is much smaller, less
powerful and less expensive than the
supercomputer and the mainframe computer.
There are two main types of personal
computers. Macintosh (Macs) and the PC
compatibles (PC). The main differences
between the two are the operating systems
and the processor they use. This category of
computer has two additional types of
computers. These are mobile computer and
handheld computer. The most popular type
of mobile computer is the notebook or
laptop computer, and the handheld computer
is a very small PC that you can hold in your
hand.

Parts of Computer:
The basic parts of a desktop computer are the
computer case, monitor, keyboard, mouse,
and power cord. Each part plays an important
role whenever you use a computer.

Computer case
The computer case is the metal and plastic
box that contains the main components of
the computer. It houses the motherboard,
central processing unit (CPU), power
supply, and more.
Computer cases come in different shapes
and sizes. A desktop case lies flat on a desk,
and the monitor usually sits on top of it. A
tower case is tall and sits next to the
monitor or on the floor. The front of the case
usually has an on/off switch and one or
more optical drives.
Monitor

The monitor works with a video card,

located inside the computer case, to display
images and text on the screen. Newer
monitors usually have LCD (liquid crystal
display) or LED (light-emitting diode)
displays. These can be made very thin, and
they are often called flat-panel displays.
Older monitors use CRT (cathode ray tube)

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displays. CRT monitors are much larger and

heavier, and they take up more desk space.
Most monitors have control buttons that
allow you to change your monitor's display
settings, and some monitors also have builtin speakers.

computer keyboards, including wired,

wireless, ergonomic, and multimedia.
Although there may be differences in the
location of some keys or features, keyboards
are very similar and allow you to
accomplish basically the same tasks

LED displays are actually LCDs that are

backlit with light-emitting diodes. This
allows for greater contrast than a
traditional LCD.

Escape Key

Power cord
The Escape (Esc) key allows you to stop a function or
action. For example, if a webpage is taking a long time
to load, you can press the Escape key to stop loading it.

Function Keys

The power cord is the link between the

power outlet and the power supply unit in
the computer casing. If the power cord is not
plugged in, the computer will not power on.
To protect your computer from voltage
spikes, you can plug the power cord in to a
surge protector. You can also use an
uninterruptable power supply (UPS),
which acts as a surge protector and provides
temporary power if there is a blackout.
Keyboard
The keyboard is one of the primary ways
we communicate with the computer and
enter data. There are many different types of

The function keys are labeled F1 through F12. Some

programs use these keys as shortcuts for common tasks.
For example, in many programs, F1 opens the Help file.
On some keyboards, the function keys also control
things like the sound volume or monitor brightness.

Print Screen, Scroll Lock, & Pause/Break

The Print Screen, Scroll Lock, and Pause/Break keys
are at the top-right corner of the keyboard. The Print
Screen key takes a picture of your screen (called a
screenshot) that you can edit or save using a graphics
program. Scroll Lock and Pause/Break are rarely used
today, so some keyboards don't have them.

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 Delete: This erases the character to the right of the

cursor.

Insert: This switches between insert mode (which

inserts new text without deleting anything) and overtype
mode (which deletes text after the cursor as you type).

Tab
The Tab key is used to create indents in word
processing programs. Also, if you are filling out a form
online, you can use the Tab key to switch to the next
field.

Home and End: These move the cursor to the

beginning or end of the current line.

Page Up and Page Down: These scroll a document or

webpage up or down.

Alphanumeric Keys
The main part of the keyboard includes the
alphanumeric keys (letters and numbers) and the
spacebar.

Ctrl, Alt, and Shift

The Control (Ctrl), Alternate (Alt), and Shift keys are
designed to work in combination with other keys.
Typically, you hold down Ctrl, Alt, or Shift and then
type another key to perform a specific task. For
example, in many programs, typing Ctrl+S will save a
file.
Keyboards that are designed for Macs have a
Command key, which is often used instead of the
Control key.

Backspace
The Backspace key erases the character to the left of the
cursor.

Enter

Cursor Control Keys

The Enter key carries out commands. For example,

while on the Internet, you can type a website address
and then press Enter to go to the site. It is also used to
start a new line in word processing programs.

The cursor control keys can vary, but they will usually
include the following:

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Arrow Keys
The arrow keys are used for many different purposes,
including moving the cursor, scrolling a document,
and controlling a game.

The mouse is a peripheral that is known as

a pointing device. It lets you point to
objects on the screen, click on them, and
move them.

Numeric Keypad
The numeric keypad resembles a calculator keypad.
Many users find that it is easier to type numbers using
this keypad. On some keyboards, these keys double as
arrow keys.

There are two main types of mice: optical

and mechanical. The optical mouse uses an
electronic eye to detect movement and is
easier to clean. The mechanical mouse uses
a rolling ball to detect movement. Generally,
a mechanical mouse is less expensive,
although it may require regular cleaning to
keep it working properly.
Traditionally, a mouse connects to the
computer using a USB or PS/2 connection.
However, you can also buy a wireless
mouse, which can reduce clutter on your
desktop.
Mouse alternatives

Mouse

There are other devices that can do the same

thing as a mouse but that have a different
look and feel. Many people find them to be
easier to use, and they also require less desk
space than a mouse. The most common
mouse alternatives include:

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The basic input and output parts of a

computer system are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Trackball: A trackball has a ball on

top that can rotate freely. Instead of
moving the device like a mouse, you
can roll the ball with your fingers to
move the pointer. Some mobile
devices have miniature trackballs
that can be controlled with your
thumb.
Touchpad: A touchpadalso called
a trackpadis a touch-sensitive pad
that lets you control the pointer by
making a drawing motion with your
finger. Touchpads are common on
laptop computers.

Input & Output devices:

Monitor
CPU (Central Processing Unit)
Keyboard
Mouse
Speakers
Printer

Input Devices:
Devices that help us put data into the
computer are called input devices. They help
in giving instructions to the computer. Let
us learn about a few input devices.

Keyboard: The keyboard is used for entering

data into the computer system. It can type
words, numbers and symbols.

A computer is an electronic machine that

processes data. Information given to the
computer is called data. Computer works very
fast. It saves your time and energy. It does not
make mistakes. It can remember a lot of things.
The basic parts of a computer are shown in the
picture given here.

Mouse:
The mouse is a pointing device. You can
give input to the computer with the help of
the mouse.

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A web camera is used to take live photos videos.

You can save them in the computer.

Joystick:

A joystick makes computer games a lot

more fun. When it is moved, it passes
information to the computer.

Scanner:

A Scanner Copies pictures and pages, and

turns them into images that can be saved on
a computer.
Processing Device:
All the inputs are stored, sorted, arranged
and changed by a computer. The device that
helps a computer do so is called the
processing device. The processing device in
a computer is known as Central Processing
Unit (CPU).
Microphone:

A microphone is the mike that can be

attached to a computer. It allows you to
input sounds like speech and songs into the
computer. You can record your voice with
the help of a microphone.
Web Camera:

Output Devices:
The parts of a computer that help us to show
the results of processing are called out
devices. Let us learn about a few output
devices.
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Monitor:
Headphone:

A monitor looks like a TV screen. It shows

whatever you type on the keyboard or draw
with the mouse.

You can listen to music or any sound from a

computer with the help of headphones
without disturbing others.
Storage Devices:

Printer:

The parts of a computer which are used for

storing data are called. Storing data are
called storage devices. They help in storing
any work done on a computer
permanently. Let us learn about a few
storage
devices.

A printer prints the results of your work

from the computer screen on a sheet of
paper. This is called a printout.
Hard Disk:
Inside the CPU there is a hard disk. It is
made up of one or more metallic disks. It
stores a large amount of information.
Floppy

Disk:

Speakers:

The speakers are the output devices that

produce different types of sounds processed
by the computer. You can listen to songs or
speeches stored in the computer with the
help of speakers.
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A floppy disk stores small amounts small

amounts of information. It works when it is
inserted into the floppy drive. The floppy
drive is fixed in the CPU.

computer work. Internal components are as

follow:

Power Supply: The power supply converts

electricity into the current works for the
computer. When the computer is turned on
the power supply allows converted
electricity to travel to other components
inside the computer.

Motherboard: The motherboard is the

Compact
Disc (CD):

A CD stores many times more information

than a floppy disk. It works when it is
inserted into the CD drive. The CD drive is
fixed in the CPU. Note: Not handling the
CD properly may result in loss of data
stored.

CPU (Central Processing device):

circuit board that holds the main internal

components of the computer together. On
the motherboard there are three major cards;
sound card that operates the sound, the video
card that handles the graphics that you see
on the monitor and the modem card which
allows computers to communicate with each
other. Also on the motherboard is the
Central Processing Unit (CPU), processor or
brain of the computer. The CPU controls
information and tells the other components
inside the computer what to do.

RAM & ROM: RAM stands for random

access memory. This memory holds the
information you are working with while the
computer is turned on. Once you turn the
computer off all the information that was in
RAM will be gone. ROM stands for read
only memory. This memory holds
information that you can only read, but not
erase. Information in ROM is built in and is
always there even when the computer is
turned off.

Disk Drives: The disk drive is the device

The system unit, like the one above is the
case that contains all the electronic
components of any computer system.
The electronic components are considered
internal hardware seeing that they are inside
the system unit and you cannot see when
you
look
at
the
computer.
These components inside the system unit are
what process the data and really makes the

that reads information that is on disk.

Generally speaking most computers have
three disk drives; hard disk drive, floppy
disk drive and CD-Rom drive. However,
there computers that have DVD-Rom drive.
While the hard disk is hidden inside the
computer the floppy and CD-Rom drives are
accessible from the front of the system unit.

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Memory concept:

Memory Units:
4 bit = 1 nibble
8 bit = 1 byte
1024 B = 1 KB (Kilo Byte)
1024 KB = 1 MB (Mega Byte)
1024 MB = 1 GB (Giga Byte)
1024 GB = 1 TB (Tera Byte)
1024 TB = 1 PB (Peta Byte)
1024 PB = 1 XB (Exa Byte)
1024 XB = 1 ZB (Zeta Byte)
1024 ZB = 1 YB (Yota Byte)
bit < Byte < KB < MB < GB < TB < PB <
XB < ZB < YB
bit (b)
Byte (B)
Mbps mega bits per sec.
MBps mega Bytes per sec.
The information you put into the computer
is
called Data
Information of a computer is stored as
Digital
Data
A number system defines a set of values
that is used to represent Quantity

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In which number system, the modern

computers
are operated?
Binary
Number
System
Name the most significant bit, which
represent 1 and 0 for a positive number and
negative
number,
respectively.
Sign
Bit
Which coding scheme represents data in a
binary form in the computer system? ASCII,
EBCDIC and Unicode are the most
commonly used codes under this scheme.
Binary
Coding
Scheme
EBCDIC is a 8-Bit code with 256
different
representations of characters. It is mainly
used in mainframe computers.
EBCDIC
stands
for
Extended
Binary
Coded
Decimal
Interchange
Code
In the Hexadecimal Number System
each number represents a power of 16. To
represent the decimal numbers, this system
uses numbers from 0 to 9 and characters
from A to F to represent numbers 10-15,
respectively. It is commonly used as a
shortcut notation for groups of four binary
digits
BCD is a method that represents the
decimal digits with the help of binary digits.
It
takes
advantage
that one decimal numeral can be represented
by 4-bit pattern. BCD stands for Binary
Coded
Decimal
This coding system is used to represent the
interval storage area of the computers. In
this system, every character is represented
by
a
combination
of
bits.
Binary
Coding
System
The Base or Radix of the decimal number
system
is
10
The arithmetic operations (addition,

subtraction, multiplication and division)

performed on the binary numbers is called
Binary
Arithmetic
What is the standard code the computer
industry created to represent characters?
American
Standard
Code
for
Information
Interchange
(ASCII)
ASCII is a code used for standardizing the
storage and transfer of information amongst
various
computing
devices.
It is required for representing more than 64
characters. At present, the mostly used
coding
systems are ASCII and EBCDIC
Which code is also known as Reflected
Code?
Gray
Code
The 7-bit ASCII code is widely used for
Two
(0
or
1)
In the binary language, each letter of the
alphabet,
each number and each special character is
made
up of a unique combination of Eight Bits.

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Language concept of computer:

In all over the world, language is the source
of communication among human beings.
Different countries/regions have different
languages.
Similarly,
in
order
to
communicate with the computer user also
needs to have a language that should be
understood by the computer. For this
purpose, different languages are developed
for performing different types of work on
the computer. Basically, languages are
divided into two categories according to
their interpretation.
1. Low Level Languages.
2. High Level Languages.
Low Level Languages
Low level computer languages are machine
codes or close to it. Computer cannot
understand instructions given in high level
languages or in English. It can only
understand and execute instructions given in
the form of machine language i.e. language
of 0 and 1. There are two types of low level
languages:

Machine Language.
Assembly Language

Machine Language: It is the lowest and

most elementary level of Programming
language and was the first type of
programming language to be developed.
Machine Language is basically the only
language which computer can understand. In
fact, a manufacturer designs a computer to
obey just one Language, its machine code,
which is represented inside the computer by
a String of binary digits (bits) 0 and 1. The
symbol 0 stands for the absence of Electric
pulse and 1 for the presence of an electric
pulse. Since a computer is Capable of

recognizing electric signals, therefore, it

understands machine Language.

Advantages of Machine Language

i) It makes fast and efficient use of the
computer.
ii) It requires no translator to translate the
code i.e. Directly understood by the
computer
Disadvantages of Machine Language:
i) All operation
remembered

codes

have

to

be

ii) All memory addresses have to be

remembered.
iii) It is hard to amend or find errors in a
program written
In the machine language
iv) These languages are machine dependent
i.e. a particular
Machine language can be used on only one
type of computer

Assembly Language
It was developed to overcome some of the
many inconveniences of machine language.
This is another low level but a very
important language in which operation
codes and operands are given in the form of
alphanumeric symbols instead of 0s and ls.
These alphanumeric symbols will be known
as mnemonic codes and can have maximum
up to 5 letter combination e.g. ADD for
addition, SUB for subtraction, START,
LABEL etc. Because of this feature it is also
known
as
Symbolic
Programming
Language. This language is also very

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difficult and needs a lot of practice to master

it because very small
English support is given to this language.
The language mainly helps in compiler
orientations. The instructions of the
Assembly language will also be converted to
machine codes by language translator to be
executed by the computer.

Advantages of Assembly Language

Types of High Level Languages

Many languages have been developed for
achieving different variety of tasks, some
are fairly specialized others are quite general
purpose.
These are categorized according to their use
as

i) It is easier to understand and use as

compared to machine language.

a) Algebraic Formula-Type Processing.

These languages are oriented towards the
computational procedures for solving
mathematical and statistical problem

ii)It is easy to locate and correct errors.

Examples are

iii) It is modified easily

Disadvantages of Assembly Language

i) Like machine language it is also machine

dependent.

ii) Since it is machine dependent therefore

programmer Should have the knowledge of
the hardware also.

b) Business Data Processing:

These languages emphasize their

capabilities for maintaining data
processing procedures and files handling
problems. Examples are:

COBOL
(Common
Oriented Language).

High Level Languages

High level computer languages give formats
close to English language and the purpose of
developing high level languages is to enable
people to write programs easily and in their
own native language environment (English).
High-level languages are basically symbolic
languages that use English words and/or
mathematical symbols rather than mnemonic
codes. Each instruction in the high level
language is translated into many machine
language instructions thus showing one-tomany translation

BASIC (Beginners All Purpose

Symbolic Instruction Code).
FORTRAN (Formula Translation).
PL/I
(Programming
Language,
Version 1).
ALGOL (Algorithmic Language).
APL (A Programming Language).

Business

RPG (Report Program Generator

c) String and List Processing: These are

used for string manipulation including
search for patterns, inserting and deleting
characters. Examples are:

LISP (List Processing).

Prolog (Program in Logic).

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Disadvantages of High Level Language

d)Object
Language

Programming

In OOP, the computer program is divided

into objects. Examples are:

Oriented

C++
Java

A high-level language has to be

translated into the machine language
by a translator and thus a price in
computer time is paid.
The object code generated by a
translator might be inefficient
Compared to an equivalent assembly
language program

e) Visual programming language: these

are designed for building Windows-based
applications Examples are:

Visual Basic
Visual Java
Visual C

Advantages of High Level Language

Following are the advantages of a high level
language:

User-friendly
Similar to English with vocabulary
of words and symbols
Therefore it is easier to learn.
They require less time to write.
They are easier to maintain.
Problem oriented rather than
'machine' based.

Program written in a high-level

language can be translated into many
machine language and therefore can
run on any computer for which there
exists an appropriate translator.

It is independent of the machine on

which it is used i.e.Programs
developed in high level language can
be run on any Computer

Software concept of Computer:

Software brings life into computer. It is
nothing but instructions (or a program)
required to run the computer. It guides the
hardware how to do this job. A computer is
otherwise a general purpose machine. It is
software which differentiates among the
various kinds of jobs a computer can
perform. Software consists of electronics
instruction. A specific set of instructions that
drive a computer to perform a specific task
is called a program. When a computer is
using a particular program, it is said to be
running or executing that program.
Microsoft, WordPerfect, Ami pro for
Windows are few of the Windows- based
word processors available in the market.
Oracle, Ingres, Informix, Unify are some of
the commercially available Rational
Database Management System (RDBMS)
packages. Auto CAD has been the most
famous drafting package and it works on the
windows platform. Diagnostic are the
programs used to diagnose the problems of
your computers. These are very important
programs and are able to rectify the
problems of your computer to a certain
extent by the programmer itself. Typical
examples of such programs are Scan Disk,

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Smart Dog and Norton Utilities etc.

CorelDraw, PowerPoint and Persuasion are
the Presentation graphics or business
graphics packages which works in the
windows environment.
Software categories:
Software can be divided, from a commercial
point of view, using two features: the cost
and the permission to be modified.
Subdivision cost is

Freeware: Software which is

completely costless. The producers
of this software are either public
institutions such as universities or
developers who do it for personal
interest or advertisement or private
company who do it for dumping
reasons. Some examples are
Microsoft interenet explorer, Linux
operating system.
Shareware: Software which is
initially costless but after a certain
period the user is asked to pay a fee
or delete it; or software which has
two versions: a free one, but
incomplete or with advertisement
banners
and
a
complete
advertisement free one, for which the
user must pay. The most common
example is Winzip compression
program.
Commercial: Software for which the
user has to pay a license to use it.
Common examples are Microsoft
windows operating system and
Microsoft word.
Private: Software uniquely built,
under payment, for a specific
customer to fit his needs. Only the
customer may use it. A typical
example is universitys studentscourses professors database system.

Operating system and types of software:

The computer will not work without
software. Software also call programs are
the instructions that tell the computer what
to do and how o do it. The two main
categories of software are system software
and application software. The system
software also called the operating system
(OS) actually runs the computer. This
software controls all the operations of the
computer and its devices. All computers use
system software and without the system
software the application software will not
work. The most common OS on a PC is the
Windows operating system and for the Mac
computer it would be the Mac operating
system.
Application software is a program that
allows users to a specific task on the
computer. There are a number of different
types of application software available to do
many of the tasks we do daily. Four
examples of common application software
and what they are used for are:

Word Processing Application:

One word processing program is
Microsoft Word. This program
allows you to type letters,
assignments and do any other written
activity on the computer.

Spreadsheet

Application:

Microsoft Excel is an example of a

spreadsheet program. One can use
this program to create charts and do
calculations.
E-mail Application: Outlook
Express is an e-mail program that
allows you to receive and send emails.
Internet Application: Internet
Explorer is a program that allows
you to get connected to the Internet
and look at Web sites

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Basic of MS-DOS:

MS-DOS was the original operating system

for (IBM) PC's, and served as the base on
top of which Windows was originally
written. MS-DOS provided a text-based
'command-line interface' instead of the
visual interface of the Mac and Windows.

Internal command:

An internal command is an MS-DOS

command that is stored in the system
memory
and
loaded
from
the
command.com. The illustration shows how
commands contained within command.com
are part of the command.com file. However,
with the external commands, each of the
commands is their own separate files.
Below are examples of internal commands
in MS-DOS and the Windows command line
currently listed in the Computer Hope
database.
Assoc
Atmadm
For
Break
Goto
Call
Rd
If
CD
Ren
LH
Chdir
Rename
Loadhigh
Cls
Rmdir
Lock
Color
Set
Md
Copy
Setlocal
Mkdir
Ctty
Shift
Mklink
Date
Start
Move
Del
Switches
Path
Dir
Time
Pause
Drivparm
Title
Popd
Echo
Type
Prompt
Endlocal
Pushd
Erase
Exit

Unlock
Ver
Verify
Vol

External command:

An external command is an MS-DOS

command that is not included in
command.com. External commands are
commonly external either because they
require large requirements or are not
commonly used commands. The illustration
shows each of the external commands are
their own separate files. However, the
internal commands are all included in the
command.com file.
Below are examples of MS-DOS and
Windows command line external commands
currently listed on Computer Hope.
Append
Arp
Assign
At
Attrib
Backup
Bcdedit
Bootsect
Cacls
Chcp
Chkdsk
Chkntfs
Choice
Cipher
Comp
Compact
Convert
Debug
Defrag
Delpart
Deltree
Diskcomp
Diskcopy
Doskey
Dosshell
Dumpchk

Edit
Edlin
Expand
Extract
Fasthelp
Fc
Fciv
Fdisk
Find
Forfiles
Format
FTP
Gpupdate
Graftabl
Help
Hostname
Ipconfig
Label
Loadfix
logoff
Mem
Mode
More
Msav
Msbackup
Mscdex
Mscdexnt

Mwbackup
Msd
Nbtstat
Net
Netsh
Netstat
Nlsfunc
Nslookup
Pathping
Ping
Power
Print
Reg
Robocopy
Route
Runas
Scandisk
Scanreg
Setver
Sfc
Share
Shutdown
Smartdrv
Sort
Subst
Sys

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'Accessories' in the Start menu. It can also

be accessed by typing "<windows button>"
and "R". Then type in "cmd" without the
quotes and you should be in DOS, also
known as a Command Prompt.

How to use MS-DOS

DOS on your computer(7
steps) ?

2
You should see a window with "C:\>",
"C:\DOCUMENTS
DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS
SETTINGS\[your
name]>", or something similar. This is
called the command prompt
prompt, and it also
serves the useful purpose of showing what
directory you're currently in. At the end of
this prompt, you type commands (think
verbs) followed by arguments (think nouns - when the verb needs a noun, that is), then
press enter. Here are some sa
sample
commands:
1
If you're on a computer that has DOS as
an operating system, the command
prompt should appear automatically
when the computer is turned on. If you're
using a Windows computer, you'll need to
start the command prompt manually. For
most computers,
s, it should be located under
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C:\GAMES>ping nosound

disk or the directory (or "folder") that you're

in. Depending on where you are, you might
get something like this:

. DIR

.. DIR

DOS DIR

GAMES DIR

WINDOWS DIR

AUTOEXEC .BAT

ESSAY .TXT

C:\MY DOCUMENTS>edit essay.txt

3
The most important thing you should be
able to do is list the contents of
directories, and navigate them. Use the dir
command to list the contents of your hard

When used on its own, dir will show the

contents of your current directory, but
there are many useful arguments for the
dir command. For example, typing the
name of a directory after dir will give you
the contents of that directory instead, and /p
is useful for very long lists because it will
stop and wait for you to press a key every
time it reaches the end of the screen. /p can

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also be used in most other commands that

print on the screen.

Would change the command prompt

to C:\GAMES\GRAPE>

5
If you want to enter a directory, type cd,
then the path and name of the directory
(ex. cd C:\GAMES\GRAPE). If the directory
is a subdirectory of the directory you're
currently in, like if you were already in
GAMES in the previous example, you could
also just type cd GRAPE. Here, ' cd ' is the
command and the directory is the argument.
The command prompt also shows the name
of your current directory. So, typing

C:\> CD C:\GAMES\GRAPE
6
Executing programs is exactly like
commands. For example, if I wanted to start
the game Mortar Mayhem, I would navigate
to the directory it's in:

C:\> cd games\mortar

Then type the name of the EXE file, without

the extension.
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C:\GAMES\MORTAR> mortar

And the game will run

del [countdown.txt] - Deletes a file.

Does not remove directories, but
does clear their contents.

7
Now that you know the basic syntax of
DOS, here are some other useful
commands. The things in [brackets] are
only examples.

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move [countdown.txt]
[c:\games\grape] - Moves a file or
folder

md [grape] - Creates a subdirectory

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rmdir [grape] - Removes a directory.

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Concept of WWW:
What is Internet?
The Internet is essentially a global network
of computing resources. You can think
about the Internet as a physical collection of
routers and circuits as a set of shared
resources or even as an attitude about
interconnecting and intercommunication.
Some common definitions given in the past
include:

A network of networks based on the

TCP/IP communications protocol.

A community of people who use and

develop those networks.

A community of people who use and

develop those networks.

Internet Based Services:

Some of the basic services available to
Internet users are:

Email: A fast, easy, and inexpensive

way to communicate with other
Internet users around the world.

Telnet: Allows a user to log into a

remote computer as though it were a
local system.

FTP: Allows a user to transfer

virtually every kind of file that can
be stored on a computer from one
Internet-connected computer to
another.

Usenetnews: A distributed bulletin

board that offers a combination news
and discussion service on thousands
of topics.

World Wide Web (WWW): A

hypertext interface to Internet
information resources.

What is WWW?
This stands for World Wide Web. A
technical definition of the World Wide Web
is : all the resources and users on the
Internet that are using the Hypertext
Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
A broader definition comes from the
organization that Web inventor Tim
Berners-Lee helped found, the World Wide
Web Consortium (W3C):
The World Wide Web is the universe of
network-accessible
information,
an
embodiment of human knowledge.
In simple terms, The World Wide Web is a
way of exchanging information between
computers on the Internet, tying them
together into a vast collection of interactive
multimedia resources.
What is HTTP?
This stands for HyperText Transfer
Protocol. This is the protocol being used to
transfer hypertext documents thats makes
the World World Wide possible.
A standard web address such as
http://www.yahoo.com/ is called a URL and
here the prefix http indicates its protocol
What is URL?
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator,
and is used to specify addresses on the
World Wide Web. A URL is the
fundamental network identification for any

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resource connected to the web (e.g.,

hypertext pages, images, and sound files).
A URL will have the following format:
protocol://hostname/other_information
The protocol specifies how information
from the link is transferred. The protocol
used for web resources is HyperText
Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Other protocols
compatible with most web browsers include
FTP, telnet, newsgroups, and Gopher.
The protocol is followed by a colon, two
slashes, and then the domain name. The
domain name is the computer on which the
resource is located.
Links to particular files or subdirectories
may be further specified after the domain
name. The directory names are separated by
single forward slashes.
What is Website?
Currently you are on our website
http://www.tutorialspoint.com which is a
collection of various pages written in HTML
markup language. This is a location on the
web where people can find tutorials on latest
technologies. Similar way there are millions
of websites available on the web.
Each page available on the Website is called
a web page and first page of any web site is
called home page for that site.
What is Web Server?

unique address made up of a series of four

numbers between 0 and 256 separated by
periods.for example, 68.178.157.132 or
68.122.35.127.
When you register a Web address, also
known as a domain name, such as
tutorialspoint.com you have to specify the IP
address of the Web server that will host the
site.
We will see different type of Web servers in
a separate chapter.
What is Web Browser?
Web Browsers are software installed on
your PC. To access the Web you need a web
browsers, such as Netscape Navigator,
Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla
Firefox.
Currently you must be using any sort of
Web browser while you are naviating
through my site tutorialspoint.com. On the
Web, when you navigate through pages of
information this is commonly known as
browsing or surfing.
We will see different type of Web browsers
in a separate chapter.
What is SMTP Server?
This stands for Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol Server. This server takes care of
delivering emails from one server to another
server. When you send an email to an email
address, it is delivered to its recipient by a
SMTP Server.

Every Web site sits on a computer known as

a Web server. This server is always
connected to the internet. Every Web server
that is connected to the Internet is given a
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What is ISP?
This stands for Internet Service Provider.
They are the companies who provide you
service in terms of internet connection to
connect to the internet.
You will buy space on a Web Server from
any Internet Service Provider. This space
will be used to host your Web site.
What is HTML?
This stands for HyperText Markup
Language. This is the language in which we
write web pages for any Website. Even the
page you are reading right now is written in
HTML.
This is a subset of Standard Generalized
Mark-Up Language (SGML) for electronic
publishing, the specific standard used for the
World Wide Web.

Without doing it your domain name will not

be functioning properly.
What is W3C?
This stands for World Wide Web
Consortium which is an international
consortium of companies involved with the
Internet and the Web.
The W3C was founded in 1994 by Tim
Berners-Lee, the original architect of the
World Wide Web. The organization's
purpose is to develop open standards so that
the Web evolves in a single direction rather
than being splintered among competing
factions. The W3C is the chief standards
body for HTTP and HTML.
Concept of Virus:

What is DNS ?

A computer virus is a program or piece of

code that is loaded onto your computer
without your knowledge and runs against
your wishes. Viruses can also replicate
themselves. All computer viruses are manmade. A simple virus that can make a copy
of itself over and over again is relatively
easy to produce. Even such a simple virus is
dangerous because it will quickly use all
available memory and bring the system to a
halt. An even more dangerous type of virus
is one capable of transmitting itself across
networks and bypassing security systems.

DNS stands for Domain Name System.

When someone types in your domain name,
www.example.com, your browser will ask
the Domain Name System to find the IP that
hosts your site. When you register your
domain name, your IP address should be put
in a DNS along with your domain name.

Since 1987, when a virus infected

ARPANET, a large network used by the
Defense Department and many universities,
many antivirus programs have become
available. These programs periodically
check your computer system for the bestknown types of viruses.

What is Hyperlink?
A hyperlink or simply a link is a selectable
element in an electronic document that
serves as an access point to other electronic
resources. Typically, you click the hyperlink
to access the linked resource. Familiar
hyperlinks include buttons, icons, image
maps, and clickable text links.

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Some people distinguish between general

viruses and worms. A worm is a special type
of virus that can replicate itself and use
memory, but cannot attach itself to other
programs.

popularity in 1998.

Searching through internet:

Netscape

Web - Browser Types

Netscape is one of the original Web

browsers. This is what Microsoft
designed Internet Explorer to
compete against. Netscape and IE
comprise the major portion of the
browser market. Netscape was
introduced in 1994.

Web Browsers are software installed on

your PC. To access the Web you need a web
browser, such as Netscape Navigator,
Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla
Firefox.
Currently you must be using any sort of
Web browser while you are navigating
through my site tutorialspoint.com. On the
Web, when you navigate through pages of
information this is commonly known as web
browsing or web surfing.
There are four leading web browsers:
Explorer, Firefox, Netscape and Safari but
there are many others browsers available.
You might be interested in knowing
Complete Browser Statistics. Now we will
see these browsers in bit more detail.
While developing a site, we should try to
make it compatible to as many browsers as
possible. Especially site should be
compatible to major browsers like Explorer,
Firefox, Netscape, Opera and Safari.
Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer (IE) is a product

from software giant Microsoft. This
is the most commonly used browser
in the universe. This was introduced
in 1995 along with Windows 95
launch and it has passed Netscape

You can download latest version of

this browser from Miscrosoft site

Mozilla

Mozilla is an open-source Web

browser, designed for standards
compliance, performance and
portability. The development and
testing of the browser is
coordinated by providing
discussion forums, software
engineering tools, releases and bug
tracking. Browsers based on
Mozilla code is the second largest
browser family on the Internet
today, representing about 30% of
the Internet community.

Konqueror

Konqueror is an Open Source web

browser with HTML 4.01
compliance, supporting Java
applets, JavaScript, CSS 1, CSS
2.1, as well as Netscape plugins.
This works as a file manager as
wellIt supports basic file
management on local UNIX
filesystems, from simple cut/copy

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and paste operations to advanced

remote and local network file
browsing.

character-cell
cell terminals or
emulators.

How to search a matter on internet (Steps

(Steps):
Firefox

Firefox is a new browser derived

from Mozilla. It was released in
2004 and has grown to be the
second most popular browser on the
Internet.

Step 1: when you will open computer and

the desktop page will appear, you will see
some icons on the desktop like these.

Safari

Safari is a web browser developed

by Apple Inc. and included in Mac
OS X. It was first released as a
public beta in January 2003. Safari
has very good support for latest
technologies like XHTML, CSS2
etc.

Opera

Opera is smaller and faster than

most other browsers,
rs, yet it is fullfull
featured. Fast, user-friendly,
friendly, with
keyboard interface, multiple
windows, zoom functions, and
more. Java and non Java--enabled
versions available. Ideal for
newcomers to the Internet, school
children, handicap and as a frontfront
end for CD-Rom
om and kiosks.

Step 2: in the previous picture (Step 1) you

can see the available web browsers on your
computer. You have to search internet by
using these software.
using Internet
ternet Explorer

Lynx

Lynx is a fully-featured
featured World
Wide Web browser for users on
Unix, VMS, and other platforms
running cursor-addressable,
addressable,
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After the double click on the internet

explorer icon a page will open like this.

Now type in that blank area (any of the

following search engines)
1.
2.
3.
4.

www.google.com
www.yahoo.com
www.bing.com
www.ask.com

As google.com is the largest search engine

let us use www.google.com

Now look at the top of the page and you will

find this place called address bar.

Then press enter button on your keyboard

after writing.

Now take you mouse pointer towards this

address bar and click on the text written in
the address bar and you will see the whole
text will be selected and will be highlighted
with blue color. If not then after clicking
anywhere in the text press CTRL+A on your
keyboard.
Now put your mouse pointer in the search
bar situated at the middle of this page.
Now after selecting the whole text and
making all the text blue press backpress
button on your keyboard. It will delete that
address written in the address bar and you
will be able to write of your own choice.

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Now type the matter you want to search in

the search bar and press enter on your key
board. Let us search computer basic in
google.

Now you can use other web browsers like

Google chrome, Mozilla Firefox just like
same process explained above in case of
internet explorer.
Now special type: You saw we searched
only text but in some time we are in need of
search of some pictures too.

It will appear like thisIt will appear like this (Above picture).
Now choose any of those options written
with blue color and click on any of them and
find if that information is necessary for you.
If not then click the blue arrow situated
situate at
the left of the top page and you will find the
above picture page again. Now you can
select any other options too.

Now click on any picture of your choice and

it will open in a big view just right click on
the picture and click on the save the picture
as option. It will appear like this
this-

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Now when you will click save as option it

will appear like this

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