) \ CONTENTS \ Chai niTTI Paoa llo. \ 1. information Concepts &.Processing 1-20 1 r S\ 1 2. Computer Appreciation 21-58 3. Data Communication & Networks 59-84 i 4. Introduction to Internet Technologies i 95-224^ 5. Concepts in Operating System 4 225-264 I . / X t X I I \ Y\ if \ . / li x- . I,, \'t . SYLLABUS COMPUTER FUNDAMENTAL SECTION A Information Concepts & Processing Definition of information, data vs information, introduction to information system, information representation digital media, images, graphics, animation, audio, video etc. Need a value & quality of information the concept of information entropy & numericals. SECTION B Computer Appreciation Definition of electronic computer, history, generation, characteristics & application of computers, classification of computers, RAM,ROM, computer hardware, CPU, various I/O devices, peripherals, storage media, software definition and concepts. SECTION C Data Communication & Network Computer networks , networking of computers, introduction to LAN, WAN, MAN, network topologies , basic concepts in computers computer n^orks, introduction to GPRS, CDMA,GSM & FM technologies. SECTION D Introdnction to Internet Technologies HTML, DHTML, WWW,FTP, TELINET, web browser, net surfing , search engines, e-mail, ISP, e-commerce, public key, private key, safety of business transaction on web. Concepts in Operation System Elementary concepts in operation system, GUI, introduction to DOS, MS windows. t . classification of computere, RAM, ROM, computer hardware, CPU, various I/O devices, peripherals, storage media, software definition and cimcepts. SECTION C Data Conununication ft Networks Computer networics, networking of computers, introduction to LAN, WAN, MAN, network topologies, basic concepts in computers computer networks, introduction to GPBS, CDMA, GSM & FM technologies. SECTION D Introduction to Internet Technologies HTML, DHTML, WWW, FTP, TELENET, web browser, net surfing, searcbi engines, eomail, ISP, e-commerce, public key, private key, safety of business transaction on web. Concepts in Operation System Elementary concepts in operation system, GUI, Introduction to DOS, MS windows. 1 e ' / 1 \ SEMESTER-! > INTRODUCTION TO IT (DCS-14dP) iiaamUm Time : 3 Hrs. University Examination : 35 Marks ^ttai MaHis; 50 Continuous Internal Assessment15 Marks Minimum Pass Marks : 40% . \ I 1. Familairitj' witii operation of computers, booting the system from floppy and hard disk. * ' * Internal smd External commands of DOS (changing drives, changing files, cop}dng files, directories, ' path command else.) ' . 3. Understanding and changing Autoexec.bat, config.sys'files. 4r 'Using PC Tbols, Norton,utilities and anti virus programs. • 6. Preparation & representation of documents. \ V A I X 1 \ V y t rii' •! INFORMATION CONCEPTS y AND PROCESSING ■5‘- -1 ??■ ^ o» I 3^ ^ Learning Objecttves . 0 After goir^ through ttiis ^lapter, you should appreciate the following: • Definition of Information • Data vs Information •*1 • Iritroduction to Information System • Information Representation Digital Media i : 1^' • Need for Value & Quality of Information • The Concept of Information Entropy & Numericals K c■ J .ri *■ . f Ju ; Innaduction xo IT 1.1 DEFINITION OF INFORMATION Information is the result of processing, manipulating and organizing data in a way that adds to the knowledge of the receiver. In other words, it-4s the context in which data is taken. NOTES Information as a concept bears a diversity of meanings, from everyday usage to technical settings. Generally speaking, the concept of information is closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control, data, form, instruction, knowledge, meaning, mental stimulus, pattern, perception, and representation. Many people speak about the Information Age as the advent of the Knowledge Age or knowledge society, the information society, and information technologies, and even though informatics, information science and computer science are often in the spotlight, the word "information" is often used without careful consideration of the various meanings it has acquired. 1.2 DATA VS INFORMATION Data in everyday language is a synonym for information. In the exact sciences . there is a clear distinction between data and information, where data is a measurement that can be disorganized and when the'data becomes organized it becomes information. Data can be about reality, or fiction such as a fictional movie. Data about reality consists of propositions. A large class of practically important propositions are measurements or observations of a variable. Such propositions may comprise numbers, words, or images. Data are rawfacts whereas Information is the processed data. If the raw data is processed as per certain rules or policy, the result obtained is called information. It means that when we process data to achieve meanin^l results, it becomes information. For example; • Results summary of an examination • Purchase and sales of any goods items. \ • 'The number of employees works in HR department, etc. This can be physically represented as; Process DATA ^ INFORMATION Thus, information is the processed data. 1.3 INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION SYSTEM Information System (IS) is the system of persons, data records and aaivities that process the data and information in a given organization, including manual processes 2 Sef Instructional Material or automated processes. Usually the term is used erroneously as a synonymous for InjbrmationCotKqUs computer-based information systems, which is only the Information technologies and Processit^ component of an Information System. The computer-based information systems are the field of study for Information technologies (IT); however these should hardly be treated apart from the bigger Information System that is always envolved in. The IT Department partly governs the information technology development, use, NOTES application and influence on a business or corporation. A computer based information system, following a definition of Langefors, is a technologically implemented medium for recording, storing, and disseminating linguistic expressions, as well as for drawing conclusions from such expressions. Information systems are also social systems whose behaviour is heavily influenced by the goals, values and beliefs of individuals and groups, as well as the performance of the technology. In information systems, an information system consist of three components: human, technology, oiganisation. In this view, information is defined in terms of the three levels of semiotics. Data which can be automatically processed by the application system corresponds to the syntax-level. In the context of an individual who interprets the data they become information, which correspond to the semantic-level. Information becomes knowledge when an individual knows (understands) and evaluates the information (e.g., for a specific task). This corresponds to the pragmatic-level. In general systems theory, an information system is a system, automated or manual, that comprises people, machines, and/or methods organized to collect, process, transmit, and disseminate data that represent user information. Itt rough set theory, an information ^stem is an attributO’value ^tem. In telecomihunicatiohs, an information system is any telecommunications and/or computer related equipment or interconnected system or subsystems of equipment that is used in the acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of voice and/or data, and includes software, firmware, and hardware. In computer security, an information system is described by five oli^ects (Aceituno, 2004): Stnicriire: * Repositories, which bold data permanent or temporarily, such as buffers, RAM, hard disks, cache, etc. * Internees, which exchange information with the non-digital world, such as keyboards, speakers, scanners, printers, etc. * Channels, which connect repositories, such as buses, cables, wireless links, etc. A Network is a set of logical or physical channels. Behavioor: • Services, which provide value to users or to other services via messages interchange. • Messages, which carries a meaning to users or seivices. In the mathematical area of domain theory, a Scott information system (after its SeifImtruttkmal Matrial 3 iiifvduction to IT inventor Dana Scon) is a mathematical structure that provides an alternative representation of Scott domains and, as a special case, algebraic lattices, 1.3.1 Fields of Information Systems Information systems deal with the development, use and management of an NOTES organization's IT infrastructure. In the post-industrial, information age, the focus of companies has shifted from being product oriented, to knowledge oriented, in a sense that market operators today, compete on process and innovation, rather than product : the emphasis has shifted from the quality and quantity of production, to the production process itself, and the services that accompany the production process. The biggest asset of companies today, is their information, represented in people, experience, know-how, innovations (patents, copyrights, trade secrets), and for a market operator to be able to compete, he/she must have a strong information infrastructure, at the heart of which, lies the information technology infrastructure. Thus, ^e study of information systems, focuses on why and how technology can be put into best use to serve the information flow within an organization. Information Systems has