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ICDL most important items

Module 1 (Basic Concepts)
Description

The physical components of your computer such as the system unit, mouse,
keyboard, monitor etc.
Software
The instructions that makes the computer work , and is loaded (i.e. copied) from
the disk into the computers RAM
Information
Is related to all aspects of managing and processing information, especially within
Technology
a large organization. Computers are critical to managing information.
(IT)
Alternative phrases are IS departments (Information Services) or MIS
departments (Management Information Services).
mainframe
Mainframe computers are the biggest computers used in most large organizations
computer
these are very powerful, expensive computers .
mini-computer
used by mid-sized companies, these are very powerful and also very expensive.
superincredibly powerful beast with a phenomenal capacity for processing data. are used
computer
by the military. and weather forecasting where a large
amount of data has to be processed rapidly and used to make predictions
intelligent
performs a lot of the processing locally within the PCs CPU linked to a mainframe
terminals
to extract the required information from the mainframe then perform analysis of
that data on the PC.
Dumb
Allows you to enter your data and displays the information on the screen.the
terminals
mainframe at the other end of the network is performing all the calculations.
PC computer
IBM invented the PC , The term PC compatible relates to PCs manufactured by
companies other than IBM that are compatible with the traditional PC specification.
PCs ran an operating system called DOS (Disk Operating System). Or, Microsoft
Windows (Windows 98, NT or Windows 2000).
Mac computer The Apple Mac is a computer, but NOT a PC , It uses a different operating system,
and requires special versions of application programs (such as word-processors or
spreadsheets)
GUI
(Graphical User Interface), or in plain English the way you could use the mouse to
drive the computer and drop down menus.
networked
A network allows you to connect two or more computers together. sharing
computer
data , printer between PCs connected to the network.
laptop &
Laptop computers are small, portable computers that can run on batteries as well as
computers
mains power , for salespersons or people giving presentations.
Notebooks
Very small laptop
palmtops
Palmtops are even smaller computers!
VDUs
(Visual Display Units), the computer screen used for outputting information.
Flat screen
Computer monitors ,These take up a lot less room on a desk and use less energy
monitors
than the traditional monitors.
CPU types
Central Processing Unit (CPU). performs all the calculations within the computer.
The Pentium name is copyrighted by Intel and only Intel CPUs can be called
Pentium CPUs , some other manufacturer, such as Cyrix or AMD.
CPU Clock
The higher the clock speed the faster the computer CPU will run ,
speed
The clock speed is given in megahertz (MHz).
With my best wishes >> Mr . Mohamed Elfaramawy

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RAM

Random Access Memory. where the operating system and also applications is
loaded to,and then copied to disk when you save the data .adding more RAM
causes great improvements to your computers performance .
ROM-BIOS
Read Only Memory ,held on mother board. It contains software that is required to
make your computer work with your operating system, it is responsible for copying
your operating system into RAM.
System Unit the main PC box which contains all the main components, such as the motherboard,
CPU, the hard disk, the floppy disk and CD-ROM drives etc.
System mother
within the system unit and all the computer systems plug directly into the system
Board
board. such as the CPU and all the other electronic components. the hard disk are
attached to the system board, either directly or via cables.
Serial Port
Socket located at the back of computer that enables you to connect items to the
computer, such as a modem. They are commonly labeled as COM1 or COM2.
Parallel Port
Socket located at the back of computer that enables you to connect items to the
computer, such as a printer. It is commonly labeled as LPT1 or LPT2.
Universal
(USB)Sockets at the back of the system unit, allowing you to plug in devices
Serial Bus
designed for the USB. These devices include scanners and digital cameras.
Monitor
TV type screen that you view your programs on. common sizes range from 15" to
21"(inches) screens. poor quality or badly maintained monitors can harm your
eyesight!
Keyboard
The keyboard allows you to type information into the computer
Mouse
to select drop down menus, to point and click on items, to select items and to drag
and drop items from one place to another.
CD-ROM
(Compact Disc) - Read Only Memory drive. CDs can hold a vast amount of data,
they are interchangeable and can store 650 MB of data .
DVD Drives (Digital Versatile Disc), contain vastly more information 25 times than a traditional
CD-ROM disk. transfer the data from the disk to the computer far faster, singlelayer, single-sided store 4.7GB of data. The two-layer allows a capacity of 8.5GB,
and if double sided ups the storage capacity to 17GB.
Floppy disk
Very slow compared to hard disks or CD-ROMs, and hold small amounts of data
1.44 Mbytes. is better than nothing in backing up valuable data .
Zip drives
Enables you to insert Zip disk and hold up to 250 Mbytes of data.They offer
increased speed compared to floppy disk.They are great for backing up data.
Jaz drives
similar to a Zip drive. The main difference between them is that a Jaz drive can
hold a lot more data (around 2 Gigabytes). Slower than normal hard disks .
Hard disk
the main, large data storage area ,much faster than CD-ROMs and floppy disks
measured by their speed, defined by the (disk access time) measured in
milliseconds, The smaller this access time the faster the hard disk will store or
retrieve data. The disk storage capacity is measured in Gigabytes
peripheral
any device that you can attach to the back of your computer. As a scanner or
device
modem.
Sound cards
when you run 'multi-media' programs, you can listen to sounds that are played back
and speakers
via your computer. you can also record sounds.
Modems
converts data into sound that is sent over the telephone line, also turns the sounds
back into data. to connect to the Internet, you will need a modem.
Printers
Most common are ink jet and laser printers both can produce colored output . In
With my best wishes >> Mr . Mohamed Elfaramawy

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most organizations, the printers are connected to the computers via a network.
Each computer connected to the network can print using a particular shared printer.
most printers have their own memory chips.
Laser printers
Laser printers produce high print quality of pictures. at high speed ,less noise. They
do not use ink; they use something called a toner cartridge.
Inkjet printers Spray ink onto the paper ,low volume printing , high quality but speed is not as
high as Laser printers.
Dot Matrix
Firing a row of pins through an ink ribbon onto the paper. generate a lot of noise,
printers
do not produce a very high quality of print .
Plotters
Output devices similar to a printer, but allow to print larger images, use in the
design and research sector.
Scanners
Scanners allow you to scan printed materials into your computer, These pictures
can then be resized and printed as required.
Recordable
Compact Disc Recordable , requires special type of CD drive unit that allows you
CDs
to record (write) data .
input devices
allow you to input information to the compute as the keyboard and mouse.
output devices allow you to output information from the computer as printer and the monitor.
PCMCIA
Portables are very compact and require smaller than hard disks and CD-ROM
Tape backup
DAT (Digital Audio Tape) devices are fast and reliable.can backup large
amounts of data (over 4 GBytes per tape)
Tracker Balls An input device allows much finer control over the movement of the items than the
tratiditional mouse.
Scanners
An input device allows you to scan printed material and convert it into a file format
that may be used within the PC.
OCR
(Optical Character Recognition) programs that are specifically designed for
converting printed text into editable text within your applications.
Touch Pads
A touch pad is a device responds to pressure. Used in conjunction with a special
pen they can be used by graphic artists .
Light Pens
A light pen is used to allow users to point to areas on a screen.
Voice input for Recent systems allow you to talk to a PC and see text appear on the screen. Most of
PCs
these systems require an initial training period, where you train the software to
respond to your particular voice.
Web Cams
Fixed on the PC monitor to allow two-way communication involving not just text
communication but sound and video communication as well.
Digital
The images are stored digitally in memory housed within the camera.( instead of
Cameras
rolls on film) , These pictures can easily be transferred to your computer.
What is VGA (Video Graphics Array) allows graphics to be displayed on your monitor. It was
limited to only 256 colors and screen resolution of 640 x 480 (pixels). Super-VGA ,
and XGA allows you to use more colors and a higher resolution.

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presentation
projection

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Speech

Devices attached to computer,useful for displaying presentations to a group of

people. with presentation programs, such as Microsoft PowerPoint. things to look
out for are the resolution and the brightness of the lamp, the cost of replacement
bulbs! The price of these devices has dropped recently.
Not only display text on a monitor, but also read the text to you, possible to use a

With my best wishes >> Mr . Mohamed Elfaramawy

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synthesizers
Internal hard
disks

microphone to talk to the computer, these systems use advanced software

Located inside the computer unit ,very fast.The speed "average access time" is
measured in milliseconds.The smaller this number the faster the disk.SCSI drives is
better for large network servers while IDE drives are better for desktop computers .
External hard Are joined to the main computer unit ,normally slower that internal disks ,they
disks
store data as internal disks about 10Gb.but More expensive than internal disks.
ROM-BIOS
'Read Only Memory Basic Input Output System' chip located on the computer's
system (mother) board
flash BIOS
The software on the chip can be upgraded. by simply running a small program
supplied by the computer manufacturer.
Year 2000 bug Upgrading of the ROM-BIOS chip of the older computers held the year
information as two digits, so that 99 would be used to represent 1999.
Data Storage computer works in binary system ( 0,1) or bits. 32-bit computer, means that
hardware can process 32 bits at a time. Byte=8 bits ,and kilobyte=1024 bytes.
Files directory
Data and programs are stored on your disk as files. Folders can also contain subfolders to further divide files.The uppermost level folder is often referred to as the
root folder (or directory).
Record
It is a collection of data held within a file , the storage unit used by a database.
Computer
Speed of a given PC is the speed of its CPU or processor clock speed (measured in
speed
MHz).as well as the hard disk (capacity and access time), also the RAM.
Operating
The operating system is a special type of program that loads automatically when
System
you start your computer , allows you to use the advanced features of a modern
computer.
Such as DOS (Disk Operating System). And GUI windows (95,98,2000).
Application
The type of program that you use once the operating system has been loaded.such
Program
as word-processing programs, spreadsheets, databases and graphics programs
Advantages of All programs look similar.
using a GUI Switching from a program to another of a different manufacturer, is very easy.
Application programs work in the same way as the underlying operating
system.
The GUI allows programmers to easily write consistent looking programs.
Examples of word-processing : Microsoft Word and Lotus Word Pro .
the application spreadsheet
: Microsoft Excel and Lotus 123.
programs
Database
: Microsoft Access and Lotus Approach .
Payroll
: Sage software .
Presentation
: Microsoft PowerPoint and Lotus Freelance .
desktop publishing : Abode Photoshop .
multimedia
: Microsoft's Encarta CD-ROM based encyclopedias .
Web authoring
: Microsoft FrontPage .
systems
development Feasibility Study: professional Systems Analysts will ask the users what they
cycle
would like the system to do .
Design: draw up plans on how this can be implemented on computer based
system .
Programming: The programmer will take the specifications from the Systems
With my best wishes >> Mr . Mohamed Elfaramawy

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LAN

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WAN

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workgroup
computing

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PSDN
ISDN

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Satellites

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Fax

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Modem

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Baud rate

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ICT
E-mail

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WWW
Internet

Internet
Search
Engines
CBT

Analyst and then convert it into actual computer programs.

Implementation: Finally, there is often an element of training.and by using the
new system, there will often be new improvements.
(Local Area Network) ) is a system of PCs are connected together within a
company or organization, devices such as printers or scanners can be shared.
(Wide Area Network) allows Pc to connect to other computers over a wider area
(i.e. the whole world).
People within the workgroup can share information on their hard disks as well as
sharing printers, modems and scanners. Many programs are also designed to be
used within a workgroup as a word-processor use what are called templates.
(Public Switched Data Network) is a telephone system in use today.
(Integrated Services Digital Network) allows much faster transfer rates than when
using modems. It can transfer 64K or 128K of data per second.
communications makes it possible to make a telephone call or access the internet
from almost anywhere on the planet.
A fax machine allows you to transmit printed material over the telephone system.
scans the page and converts the information into sound.
Modulate/DeModulate. The modem sends information from computer across the
telephone system and via versa.
Tells you how fast a modem can send/receive data , most modern modems have a
maximum baud rate of 56 (Kb/sec).
information and communications technology
It is the electronic mail,and its benefits is that :
1- instant in transmission (what ever the distance or country) .
2- it is simply received at any time that the recipient want .
3- A single email can be sent to many different people at the same time .
4- Contains not only text but also pictures, audio files .
5- almost the same price (or less) than cost of using traditional posted letters.
And its requirements is :
1- a computer connected to internet (with necessary hardware and software),
including phone line and modem or Lan and network card and cables.
2- software to compose and send an email, (built in windows or Microsoft word)
World Wide Web
A global interconnected networks. It is very useful :
1- As a research tool (gathering information) about any company in the world .
2- As a marketing tool, (for a small company) to sell products and services without
the need for a single sales-person!
3- As entertainment tool ,Whatever your interest you can search for and find
information on the most obscure topics.
4- As business by using email or what is called (home working).
Help you enter a word or phrase and it will search documents from the Internet
based on the information you typed in ,via the browser ( Microsoft internet explorer
or Netscape Communicator ).as Altavista , Infoseek , yahoo , Lycos .
Computer Based Training where you need to train a large amount of people on a
single subject.with programs are supplied on CD-ROM and combine text, graphics
and sound. Example is encyclopedias .

With my best wishes >> Mr . Mohamed Elfaramawy

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Automated
production
Design
Systems
Stock Control
Accounts &
Payroll
Voice Mail &
Fax

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Word
processing

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Spreadsheets

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Databases

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Presentation

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Translation
programs
Graphics

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Computers
uses
opportunities

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computers
appropriate
than people

Many car factories are almost completely automated and the cars are assembled by
computer-controlled robots
Using CAD(Computer Aided Design)programs to produce exact specifications and
drawings on the computer before producing models of new products.
Is ideal for automation of many companies.It keeps track of the number of items in
stock and automatically order replacement items when required.
In large organizations, the accounts are maintained by a computerized system. a
computer system is ideally suited to this task and accuracy is guaranteed.
Fax machine has been replaced by the ability to send and receive faxes directly
from a desktop computer (more quality,save time). Also traditional answering
machine has been replaced by voice mail , where the message can be stored on
computer and played back when need .
A program (such as Microsoft Word) allows you to easily produce letter, memos,
can easily mail merge a list of names and addresses individually addressed to
customers.
A program (such as Microsoft Excel) allows you to work out a companys income,
expenditure and then calculate the balance.
A program (such as Microsoft Access) allows you to compile information and then
to search this information to extract just the information you require.
A program (such as Microsoft PowerPoint) allows you to produce professional
looking presentations, which can be use with an overhead projector.
programs allow to electronically convert text from one language to another.
A program (such as Corel Graphics) is used to produce adverts, posters and
promotional material by organizations.
1- The greatest advantage in using a computer is its speed in working out repetitive
calculations.Such as weekly bank balance. list all expenditure in one column, and
all income in another column, then add up both columns and subtract the total
expenditure from your total income .
2- The Computer games: within the home (along with accessing the Internet).They
have been greatly enhanced .
3- Home working": The rise of the Internet and email has been accompanied with
it considering the cost of office space, lighting, heating. the benefit that people
working at home can schedule work, including looking after a family.
4- Home Banking : banks are setting up new companies on the Internet that will
only deal on-line. there are security and social implications offered by the Internet.
Traditionally banks that need branches near to population centers.
5- Connecting to the Web : Connected to the Net you can send and receive email,
surf for information and even conduct your personal banking via the Web.
Repetitive tasks: use computers instead of repetitive jobs were performed by low
skilled, poorly paid workers.
Easily automated tasks : The phone system is now largely automatic, instead of
made through an operator.
Mathematical calculations : A computer is ideally suited to performing
mathematical calculations instead of manual paper-based spreadsheets that could
take hours (or days). On a computer, this re-calculation can take seconds!

With my best wishes >> Mr . Mohamed Elfaramawy

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Dangerous situations: Monitoring polluted or radioactive environments is suited

to computer-based robots, where the use of a human would expose that person to
risks. A recent exploration of Mars involved a computerized car, fully remotely
controlled from earth.
people
Computers have their limits . The human touch is important, it is often a person that
appropriate
you want to talk to, as you would feel comfortable describing to your local
than computer doctor .In most of the caring professions, such as doctors, nurses or social workers.
Also in banks ,marketing some pepole still need persons to talk to .
Humans, not computers that will examine tissue within hospitals because
Computers are very bad at recognizing shapes.
Computers in 1-systems used in the home differs from the on-board computers used to land the
Daily Life
spaceships on the moon!
2-Many people now balance the monthly budget ,accounts using their computer.
3- The vast majority of home computers are still used to play games on.
4- Computer takes advantage of the vast range of available educational software .
5- If you have a computer at your home, linked to the office via a modem, there is
often little need to travel to the office. As the sales persons.
6- Many banks are now introducing on-line banking.Using your computer, connect
to the banks computer system (via the Internet) and control your day finances from
home.
7- Smart ID cards contain a memory chip within the card. They can be credited
with an amount of virtual money which can purchase goods or services.
8- Libraries use computers to log books in and out. Many libraries now use bar
codes to identify individual books, it easy to the books.
IT and Society The concept of the Information society refers to the fact that it is now very easy to
link computers together and access information stored on other computers. The
Internet is a good example. Many companies are taking up the challenge of the
information , where selling to the world via the Internet can bring great benefits to
a company.
Year 2000
Historical issue. when specifying a date on a computer you should use four digits,
issues
rather than 00.
E-commerce Electronic commerce is buying or selling via the Internet. by selecting the goods or
services directly via a Web site required, and entering your credit card details.
Good working Your chair: Your chair should be fully adjustable, and be able to be moved up or
practices
down.
Your screen: Your screen should be fully adjustable so that your eyes are at the
same height as the top of the screen. You may wish to use a filter attached to the
screen to reduce glare,when badly focused, then get a qualified technician to take a
look at it!
Your keyboard: Use a good keyboard and also a wrist pad to relieve pressure on
your wrists.
Your feet:You may wish to use a footpad to rest your feet on .
Your mouse: Make the mouse easier to use. Ensure that you have enough space to
comfortably use the mouse.
Breaks: Take frequent breaks when using a computer!
Ventilation: Make sure that the area using the computer is well ventilated.
Ventilation is especially important if you are using a laser printer, which may
produce ozone when printing.
With my best wishes >> Mr . Mohamed Elfaramawy

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RSI

Repetitive strain injury that is common in a bad working environment, caused by

constant use of the keyboard or mouse, eyestrain caused by screen glare,
problems associated with bad posture. You should take regular breaks,rest
arms,feet.
Health and
1- Make sure that cables are safely secured at the back of the desk and that you
Safety
have power points located near the desk.
2- Make sure that power points are not overloaded which is is dangerous and a
potential fire.
3- we should take regular breaks to avoid constantly staring at the screen. To avoid
Glare from screens. The better the monitor the better the screen resolution.
4- To avoid Bad posture you should have a monitor at eye level that can be adjusted
to suit you. In addition, you may want to consider a footrest.
Security
1- back up your computer.If the hard disk stops working one day you could lose all
those years of work. For this reason it is VITAL that you take regular backups of
the information that is stored on the computer.
2- Complete incremental backups . A complete backup means that you backup all
the data on your computer. Means that the entire hard disk can be backed up, but
the disadvantage that this process can take a long time( Once a week).
3- Use 'off-site' storage at a safe location to avoid loosing backup through fire,
stealing.
4- Beware of 'open files' as The backup program will skip these 'open' files.
5- computer must have a password that prevents other users from accessing it then
do NOT give this password to anybody else. Do not write the password on a card
and prop it next to the monitor .
6- Importance of shutting down computer in a proper way and should save your
work regularly because switching off the computer or losing power due to a power
cut (power outage) can cause loss of data . use the shutdown command (located on
the Start menu) in the windows 95, 98 , Nt .
UPS
Un-interruptible Power Supply : a device that you can attach to your computer that
will guard against power cuts It contains batteries that will keep your computer
alive long enough for you to turn off the computer in the proper way.
Electrical
. Power surge protection devices offer low cost protection again these occasional
surge
power surges since The voltage that is supplied to your computer via the power
protection
cable can vary from time to time. It is built into a power adaptor allowing a number
of plugs to be plugged into the adaptor .
Things
Good ventilation
computers like Clean environment
Stable, free surface
Things to
Dust
avoid
Drinking and eating over the keyboard
Heat, Cold and Moisture
Do not move the system while its switched on, could damage the hard disk
inside the machine.
Follow the correct shutdown procedure or data could be lost.
Do not place objects on top of monitors. This could block the ventilation holes
and cause it to overheat.
Do not place floppy disks near monitors. Monitors produce a strong
With my best wishes >> Mr . Mohamed Elfaramawy

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the computer
breaks down

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computer
viruses

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freeware
shareware

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site licenses

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Data
Protection and
Privacy Issues

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Data
Protection
Legislation

electromagnetic field, which can damage floppy disks

. Many large companies has a special computer support department and you should
make sure that you know how to contact them in case of emergency.
If you are not qualified to make repairs on the computer, do NOT open the
computer case and investigate ,especially the computer monitor, inside which, are
many components operating at VERY HIGH VOLTAGES, which can kill!
Viruses are small programs that hide themselves on your disks (both diskettes and
your hard disk). Unless you use virus detection software the first time that you
know that you have a virus is when it activates. The worst thing about a computer
virus is that they can spread from one computer to another (via Lan , or disks) .
To prevent virus damage you should have updated anti-virus products .
Some software is made freely available
Shareware is software that is freely available and is designed to let you use the
product for free, for a limited period . After this period, you must legally either
remove it, or pay for it .
Many large companies do not go out and buy a certain amount of 'shrink-wrapped'
copies of each software product that they need, instead they will buy a site license.
mean that the companies purchasing the license can make a fixed numbers of
copies available to their staff.
If your computer system holds information about individuals then you have a moral
and legal duty to treat that information with respect. doctors, government
departments and credit agencies often hold vast amounts of information about the
general public, which is both sensitive and private , you have a right to ensure, that
information held about you is not abused.
the main principles of the UK Data Protection Act. Are :
1- Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.
2- Personal data held for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than
is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.
3- Personal data shall be held only for one or more specified and lawful purposes.
4- Personal data held for any purpose or purposes shall be adequate, relevant and
not excessive in relation to that purpose or those purposes.
5- Personal data held for any purpose or purposes shall not be used or disclosed in
any manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes.

With my best wishes >> Mr . Mohamed Elfaramawy