INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYLLABUS Unit1: Introduction: Information System-Software and data-Business and industry-IT in home And at play-IT in education and training-IT in entertaining and the Arts –IT in Science, Engineering and Mathematics-Computer in hiding. Unit 2: The Computer System and Central Processing Unit: types of computers-Corporate and departmental computers, desktop computers and personal computers-The anatomy of computer-The foundation of Modern Information Technology: Binary numbers, Digital Signals, Bit and Bytes-Central Processing Unit-Memory. Unit 3: Input and Output: I/O Devices-Keyboards-Inputting text, Graphics-Pointing Devices-The foundation of Modern Outputs: Pixels and Resolutions, Fonts, Color-Display Screens- Printers Secondary Storage The foundation of Modern Storage: How data is Stored- Storage Characteristics-Storage Media-Floppy Disk, Hard Disk, Drives, Optical Disk- Backing up Data Unit 4: Software-Introduction-User Interface-Application Programs-Operating System: Introduction-Types, File management and Utilities-Major Software Issues. Unit 5: Internet and World wide Web: Introduction-The web-getting connected to the web- Browsing the web- locating the information on the web- Web multimedia INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Text book: Information Technology the Breaking Wave By Dennis P.Curtin,kim foley,kernel sen,Cathleen mortin-Tata MC GrawHill publishing INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Unit I INFORMATION SYSTEMS: Introduction: Information Systems (IS) is an academic/professional discipline bridging the business field and the well-defined computer science field that is evolving toward a new scientific area of study. An information systems discipline therefore is supported by the theoretical foundations of information and computations such that learned scholars have unique opportunities to explore the academics of various business models as well as related algorithmic processes within a computer science discipline. Typically, information systems or the more common legacy information systems include people, procedures, data, software, and hardware (by degree) that are used to gather and analyze digital information. Specifically computer-based information systems are complementary networks of hardware/software that people and organizations use to collect, filter, process, create, & distribute data (computing). Computer Information System(s) (CIS) is often a track within the computer science field studying computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles, their software & hardware designs, their applications, and their impact on society. Definition Information systems are implemented within an organization for the purpose of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of that organization. Capabilities of the information system and characteristics of the organization, its work systems, its people, and its development and implementation methodologies together determine the extent to which that purpose is achieved. INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Types of information systems: The 'classic' view of Information systems found in the textbooks[30] of the 1980s was of a pyramid of systems that reflected the hierarchy of the organization, usually Transaction processing systems at the bottom of the pyramid, followed by Management information systems, Decision support systems and ending with Executive information systems at the top. Although the pyramid model remains useful, since it was first formulated a number of new technologies have been developed and new categories of information systems have emerged, some of which no longer fit easily into the original pyramid model. Some examples of such systems are: Data warehouses Enterprise resource planning Enterprise systems Expert systems Geographic information system Global information system Office Automation COMPUTER SOFTWARE A software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions telling a computer what to do and how to do it. We can also say software refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of the computer for some purposes. In other words software is a set of programs, procedures, algorithms and its documentation. Program software performs the function of the program it implements, either by directly providing instructions to the computer hardware or by serving as input to another piece of software. The term was coined to contrast to the old term hardware (meaning physical devices). In contrast to hardware, software is intangible, meaning it "cannot be touched". Software is also sometimes used in a more narrow sense, meaning INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY application software only. Sometimes the term includes data that has not traditionally been associated with computers, such as film, tapes, and record Examples of computer software include: Application software includes end-user applications of computers such as word processors or video games, and ERP software for groups of users. Middleware controls and co-ordinates distributed systems. Programming languages define the syntax and semantics of computer programs. For example, many mature banking applications were written in the COBOL language, originally invented in 1959. Newer applications are often written in more modern programming languages. System software includes operating systems, which govern computing resources. Today large applications running on remote machines such as Websites are considered to be system software, because] the end-user interface is generally through a graphical user interface, such as a web browser. Testware is software for testing hardware or a software package. Firmware is low-level software often stored on electrically programmable memory devices. Firmware is given its name because it is treated like hardware and run ("executed") by other software programs. Shrinkware is the older name given to consumer-purchased software, because it was often sold in retail stores in a shrink-wrapped box. Device drivers control parts of computers such as disk drives, printers, CD drives, or computer monitors. Programming tools help conduct computing tasks in any category listed above. For programmers, these could be tools for debugging or reverse engineering older legacy systems in order to check source code compatibility. DATA: The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data (plural of "datum") are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which information and then knowledge are derived. INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Raw data, i.e. unprocessed data, refers to a collection of numbers, characters, images or other outputs from devices that collect information to convert physical quantities into symbols. 1) Distinct pieces of information, usually formatted in a special way. All software is divided into two general categories: data and programs. Programs are collections of instructions for manipulating data. Data can exist in a variety of forms -- as numbers or text on pieces of paper, as bits and bytes stored in electronic memory, or as facts stored in a person's mind. Strictly speaking, data is the plural of datum, a single piece of information. In practice, however, people use data as both the singular and plural form of the word. (2) The term data is often used to distinguish binary machine-readable information from textual human-readable information. For example, some applications make a distinction between data files (files that contain binary data) and text files (files that contain ASCII data). (3) In database management systems, data files are the files that store the database information, whereas other files, such as index files and data dictionaries, store administrative information, known as metadata. IT IN BUSINESS: Introduction: At present, computers are used for every business transactions. The following are some of the business transactions in which computers are successfully used: I. Preparation of wage sheet. II. Inventory control. III. Maintenance of records. IV. Providing summarized information required by the management. V. Banking transactions. INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY VI. Preparation of accounts and records for insurance companies. IT in business: In today‘s highly competitive economic environment having the right IT in business is a critical element of success. All businesses deal with some of the new technology whether it is just a basic computer system or highly sophisticated software to track sales from the time the initial contact is made until they close. Finding the right IT personnel or company to provide the right systems is not as hard as it may first appear. There are man y opportunities right on the Internet to find the right IT in business help. If sales companies are doing business on the Internet there is the opportunity to find good Contact Management Systems (CMS) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) software. The CMS software provides sales force managers with all of the tools necessary to monitor the status of the potential sales that are being worked by the members of the sales team. SEO software is the IT in business solution to propel a business website to high rankings on major Internet search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN. This brings targeted visitors to the