MCA01 KRISHNA KANTA HANDIQUI STATE OPEN UNIVERSITY Housefed Complex, Dispur, Guwahati - 781 006 Master of Computer Applications COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS AND PC SOFTWARE CONTENTS UNIT 1 : INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER UNIT 2 : BASIC COMPONENTS OF COMPUTER UNIT 3 : INTRODUCTION TO OPERATING SYSTEM UNIT 4 : MS DOS OPERATING SYSTEM UNIT 5 : MS WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM UNIT 6 : LINUX OPERATING SYSTEM UNIT 7 : MICROSOFT WORD-PART I UNIT 8 : MICROSOFT WORD-PART II UNIT 9 : MICROSOFT EXCEL UNIT 10 : FUNCTIONS IN EXCEL UNIT 11 : MICROSOFT POWERPOINT Subject Experts 1. Prof. Anjana Kakati Mahanta, Deptt. of Computer Science, Gauhati University 2. Prof. Jatindra Kr. Deka, Deptt. of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati 3. Prof. Diganta Goswami, Deptt. of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati Course Coordinators Tapashi Kashyap Das, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, KKHSOU Arabinda Saikia, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, KKHSOU SLM Preparation Team UNITS CONTRIBUTORS 1, 2 Arabinda Saikia, KKHSOU 3, 4 Kshirod Sarma, Assistant Professor, NERIM, Guwahati 5, 9, 10, 11 Pritam Medhi, Research Scholar, Gauhati University 6 Binod Deka, System Analyst, KKHSOU 7, 8 Tapashi Kashyap Das, KKHSOU Editorial Team Language : Prof. Robin Goswami, Senior Academic Consultant, KKHSOU July, 2011 © Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University. No part of this publication which is material protected by this copyright notice may be produced or transmitted or utilized or stored in any form or by any means now known or hereinafter invented, electronic, digital or mechanical, including photocopying, scanning, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the KKHSOU. The university acknowledges with thanks the financial support provided by the Distance Education Council, New Delhi, for the preparation of this study material. Printed and published by Registrar on behalf of the Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University. Housefed Complex, Dispur, Guwahati- 781006; Web: www.kkhsou.org COURSE INTRODUCTION This course on Computer Fundamentals and PC Software is designed with an aim to ac- quaint the learners with the basics of computer, operating systems, hardware and software and also how to use basic application programs for managing data in a computer system. The course consists of eleven units. It includes the fundamental concept of an Operating System besides MS DOS, MS Windows and LINUX operating systems are inctroduced in this course. The course also deals with Microsoft Office which is an application software consists of different applica- tions that helps us to perform different activities. It covers MS-Word, MS-Excel and MS-PowerPoint. MS-Word is the word processing program that allows us to create documents and reports. MS-Excel helps us to develop spreadsheets that display data in various tabular and visual formats. MS-PowerPoint creates multimedia presentations to display information in a graphical format. Each unit of this course includes some along-side boxes to help you know some of the difficult, unfamiliar terms. Some “EXERCISES” have been included to help you apply your mind to some of the points in the units. You may find some boxes marked with: “LET US KNOW”. These boxes will provide you with some additional interesting and relevant information. Again, you will get “CHECK YOUR PROGRESS” questions. These have been designed to enable you to self-check your progress of study. It will be helpful for you if you solve the problems put in these boxes immediately after you go through the sections of the units and then match your answers with “ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS” given at the end of each unit. MASTER OF COMPUTER APPLICATIONS Computer Fundamentals and PC Software DETAILED SYLLABUS Marks Page No. UNIT 1 : Introduction to Computer 10 7-20 Block Diagram of Computer, Evolution, Generations, Classification and its Application UNIT 2 : Basic Components of Computer 10 21-49 Concept of Bit and Byte; Block Diagram of Computer, CPU, ALU, CU; Computer Memory: Primary and Secondary; Input/Output Devices; Buses : Address, Data, Control. UNIT 3 : Introduction to OS 10 50-64 Definition and functions of an Operating System, Types of OS (Single User, Multi user, Single tasking, Multitasking, Real time, Network OS, Distributed OS) UNIT 4 : MS DOS Operating System 10 65-94 Introduction to DOS, System files of DOS, concept of Booting, Files and Directory Structure, Concept of Paths, Internal and External commands, Batch File. UNIT 5 : MS Windows Operating System 10 95-122 Features of Windows 7, Exploring Components of Windows: The Desktop, The Icons, Working with Windows, The Start Menu and Taskbar, Quiting Windows; Customizing the Desktop, Files and Folders. UNIT 6 : LINUX Operating System 10 123-147 Open Source and Free Software, Advantages and Disadvantages of Linux Operating System, Concept of Path, Basic Linux Commands, File Permission, Text Editor vi. UNIT 7 : Microsoft Word-Part I 8 148-178 Starting MS-Word, Document Window and its Components, Different Bars, Document View, Creating a New Document, Saving a Document, Opening an Existing Document, Exiting MS-Word, Working with Text, Working with Paragraph, Bullets and Numbering, Find and Replace, Copy, Cut and Paste. UNIT 8 : Microsoft Word-Part II 7 179-202 Spelling and Grammar Checking, Undo and Redo option, Header and Footer, Page Setup, Printing Documents, Inserting Picture, Working with Tables: Inserting Table, Deleting Table, Traversing Table, Selecting a Table, Rows and Columns, Deleting Rows and Columns, Merge and Split Cells; Creating Multiple Columns. UNIT 9 : Microsoft Excel 8 203-229 Starting MS-Excel, Working with Toolbars, Row, Column and Cell, Working with Excel: Creating a New Workbook, Working with Cells and Fonts, Merging Cells, Inserting and Deleting Rows and Columns; Saving a Workbook, Closing a Workbook; UNIT 10 : Functions of Excel 7 230-253 Different Operators used in Excel; Working with Formula and Functions; Sorting Data; Working with Charts. UNIT 11 : Microsoft PowerPoint 10 254-283 Starting MS-PowerPoint, Creating a New Presentation, Working with Slides, Applying Text and Graphics, Applying Themes, Customizing Slide Show, Saving, Running and Closing a Presentation, Opening an Existing Presentation. UNIT 1 : INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER UNIT STRUCTURE 1.1 Learning Objectives 1.2 Introduction 1.3 Computer Evolution and Generation 1.4 Classification of Computer 1.5 Applications of Computer 1.6 Let Us Sum Up 1.7 Answers to Check Your Progress 1.8 Further Readings 1.9 Model Questions 1.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After going through this unit, you will be able to : trace the evolution of Computer classify the different types of Computer describe the model and functioning of a Computer 1.2 INTRODUCTION Computer is the most powerful tool man has ever created. Computers have made a great impact on our everyday life.Today, computer technology has permeated every sphere of existence of modern man . With the growing information needs in the modern world ,the computer has become one of the vital components for the survival of the business houses. Their presence is felt in almost every working place from the bus,air and railway ticket counters to satellite launching, from retail stores to medical diagnosis and from home use to research and design organization .- everywhere, we witness the elegance, sophistication and efficiency made possible only with the help of computers.Computer has become a part and parcel of our Computer Fundamentals and PC Software 7 Unit 1 Introduction to Computer daily existence. In this unit, we will introduce you to the computer fundamentals including its various components and functionality. Besides discussing the characteristics of computers including its evolution and generations. We will also throw light on the categories of computers along with its application in the various fields of the modern world. 1.3 COMPUTER EVOLUTION AND GENERATION The term computer is derived from the word compute, which means to calculate. It can be defined as an Electronic machine capable of performing calculations and other manipulations of various types of data, under the control of a stored set of instructions. In the simplest form, a computer can be defined as a programmable machine. A computer accepts data from an input device and processes it into useful information which it displays on its output devices. A general purpose computer generally has an input unit, an output unit, a cental processing unit and a memory unit. Most of today’s computer designs are based on the concepts developed by John Von Neumann refered to as the “ Von Neumann architecture”. According to this structure, a computer must have two units - a processing unit and a single separate storage unit. The term “storedprogram computer” is generally used to mean a computer of this design. The processing unit is termed as central processing unit (CPU) which mainly comprises another two units, namely Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) and Control Unit (CU). The ALU performs the arithmetic operations on data such as addition, subtraction,multiplication and division, and the logical operations such as, >, <, >=. <= etc. The control unit directs the ALU to perform specific arithmetic and logical functions on the data. The storage unit is used to store instructions and data temporarily. This component is referred to as memory. The memory unit stores all the information in a group of memory cells, also called memory locations, as binary digits(bits). Each memory location has a unique address and can be 8 Computer Fundamentals and PC Software Introduction to Computer Unit 1 addressed independently. The following figure shows the basic structure of a conventional Von Neumann machine : Main Memory NOTE : All the arithmetic and Address Data and instruction logical operations are Interconnection Interconnection performed in the CPU in special storage areas Central Processing Unit (CPU) called registers. The size of the register is one of Operational Registers the important consider- Arithmetic and Logic Unit ations in determining the processing capabilities of Control Unit the CPU.