This article consists of a computer science one-liner part 1 for Basic topics of computer Fundamentals, some popular apps, and famous abbreviations.
Utility Programs
A utility program is a type of system software that is used for effective management of computer systems. The user can use utility programs to perform maintenance tasks related to different devices and programs. The utility programs keep the computer system running smoothly. Most operating systems include different built-in-utility programs. The user can also buy stand-alone utility programs.
Types of Utility Programs
- File Manager
- Image Viewer
- Search Utility
- Drive Imaging
- Disk Burning
- File Compressor
- Diagnostic Utility
- Personal Computer Maintenance Utility
- Disk Scanner
- Antivirus
- Disk Defragmenter
- Backup & Restore Utility
- Task Manager Utility
- Disk Cleanup
- Uninstaller
- Task Scheduler Utility
- Personal Firewall
- Spyware Remover
- Adware Remover
- File Conversion Utility
Data Communication and Networks
Data Communication
The process of transferring data from one location to another is Data Communication.
Basic Elements of Data Communication:
- Sending Device
- Receiving Device
- Communication Devices
- Transmission Medium
Data Transmission Modes
The way in which data is transmitted from one place to another is called data transmission mode. It has three types
- Simplex Mode
- Half-Duplex Mode
- Full-Duplex Mode
Forms of Data Transmission
1. Digital Data Transmission
Digital data transmission refers to the process of sending information (like text, pictures, or videos) from one device to another using digital signals.
The data is converted into binary code (0s and 1s) and sent in a way that computers and devices can easily understand and interpret the information accurately.
2. Analog Data Transmission
Analog data transmission refers to sending information in a format that represents continuous signals. These signals can vary in a smooth and continuous manner, like sound waves or light waves. In simpler terms, analog data is like a smoothly flowing river, where the data is represented by the varying properties of the river, such as its depth or speed.
Types of Data Transmission
1. Asynchronous Transmission
Asynchronous transmission is a communication method where data is sent without a synchronized clock signal, allowing information to be sent at irregular intervals.
Example: Sending text messages (SMS) on a mobile phone, where each message can be sent independently without waiting for a constant timing signal.
2. Synchronous Transmission
In the synchronous mode, the saved data is transmitted block by block.
Data
Sender Receiving
GPS → Global Positioning System
Computer Network
A computer network consists of two or more computers that are connected together to share information and resources.
Types of Computer Networks
- LAN → Local Area Network
- WAN → Wide Area Network
- MAN → Metropolitan Area Network
- PAN → Personal Area Network
LAN
LAN stands for Local Area Network. It covers a small area. It usually connects the computers and other devices within one office or a building or group of buildings. Speed 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps Send Receive
WAN
WAN stands for Wide Area Network. This type of network covers a large area. It connects computers and other devices in different cities and countries. WAN usually consists of several LANs connected together at speeds of 56 Kbps to 50 Mbps.
MAN
MAN stands for Metropolitan Area Network. This type of network covers an area of a city. MAN is larger than LAN but smaller than WAN. It is usually used to connect two or more LANs in a city or town.
PAN
PAN stands for Personal Area Network. It is a network that connects personal devices using wired and wireless technology. Range about 30 Feet.
Network Architecture
Network architecture is the design of computers and other devices in networks and how they communicate.
1. Peer-to-Peer Network
Peer-to-peer is a simple and irresponsible network. It normally connects less than ten computers.
2. Client-Server Network
Client-server is a network in which one or more computers work as servers and other computers work as clients.
Network Topologies
The physical layout or arrangement of connected devices in a network is called topology.
- Bus Topology ● Ring Topology ● Star Topology
- Tree Topology ● Mesh Topology
TCP/IP
TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. It is used to transfer data over the internet and consists of two protocols. The TCP is responsible for the delivery of data and IP provides addresses and rating information. TCP/IP uses packet switching to transmit data over the internet.
WIFI
WIFI stands for Wireless Fidelity.
UWB
UWB stands for Ultra-Wideband.
RFID
RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification.
NFC
NFC stands for Near Field Communications.
WiMAX
WiMAX stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access.
WAP
WAP stands for Wireless Application Protocol.
Switched Networks
A switched network consists of interconnected nodes. Data is transferred from source to destination through these nodes. Data is switched from node to node so it is called switched network.
Circuit Switching
Circuit Switching creates a dedicated path between two nodes. The entire circuit must be available to transfer data. Data is sent on circuit switching in three phases.
Packet Switching
Packet Switching network divides messages into fixed or variable-sized packets and sends them to the destination.
PSTN → Public Switched Telephone Network.
ISDN → Integrated Services Digital Network.
DSL → Digital Subscriber Line
ADSL → Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
Transmission Media
Twisted Pair
Twisted Pair is the most commonly used physical transmission medium. It is used in local area networks to connect computers and other devices.
STP → Shielded Twisted Pair
UTP → Unshielded Twisted Pair
Twisted Pair Consists of a pair of copper wires. The pair of wires is covered by plastic insulation and it is twisted together.
Coaxial Cable
Coaxial Cable consists of copper wire covered by an insulating material. Such Cables are used by the TV network and telephone companies.
Fiber Optics
Fiber optic cable consists of thin strands of glass or plastic called core. The strands are thin like human hair. The core is the center of the fiber optic that uses light to transmit data. Most telephone companies. ISPs and cable TV operators are using it.
- MU → Mobile Unit
- RBS → Radio Base Station
iii. PSTN → Public Switched Telephone Network
- MTSO → Mobile Telephone Switching Office
OSI Model
OSI → Open System Interconnection. Developed by ISO (International Standards Organization) in 1983.
Layers of OSI
7– Application Layer
6– Presentation Layer
5– Session Layer
4– Transport Layer
3– Network Layer
2– Data Link Layer
1– Physical Layer
Data Link Layer
- LLC → Logical Link Control
- MAC → Media Access Control
IANA → Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
IPv4 Addressing (IP Addressing)
Consists of 32 bits.
IPv6 Addressing
Consists of 128 bits.
TCP → Transmission Control Protocol
UDP → User Datagram Protocol
DHCP → Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
DNS → Domain Name System
SMTP → Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
Firewalls
Firewalls are a set of components used to restrict access to data and information on a network. It may consist of hardware and software. Firewalls are used to restrict unauthorized users from accessing the resources of an organization.
An IP address consists of 32 bits.
Program
A set of instructions that tells a computer what to do is called a program.
Algorithm
The algorithm is a step-by-step procedure to solve a problem.
Flowchart
A flowchart is a graphical representation of an algorithm.
Programming Languages
Low-Level languages
- Machine Language
- Assembly Language
High-Level languages
- Procedural languages
- Object Oriented Language
1. Procedural Languages
Procedural languages are also known as 3rd GL. This language tells the computer what to do and how to do it.
Types:
- FORTRAN
- BASIC
- COBOL
- PASCAL
- C
2. Object-Oriented Languages
Object oriental programming (OOP) is a technique in which programs are written on the basis of objects. An object is a collection of data and Functions. Example: C++
3. Non-Procedural Languages
Non-procedural languages are also known as Fourth-generation languages or 4GL. These Non-procedural languages tell the computer what to do not how to do it.
SQL → Structured Query Language
RPG → Report Program Generator
Natural Programming Languages
Natural Programming Languages are also known as (5GL)
Macros
Macro is a set of statements that tells the application how to complete a task.
VBA → Visual Basic Application
RAD → Rapid Application Development
Web Page Program Development
A collection of connected documents on the internet is called the World Wide Web. Each document is called a webpage. It may consist of text, graphics, audio-video, etc the developer of the webpages is called the webpage author. The techniques are used to develop web pages.
1. HTML
HTML stands for Hyper Text markup Languages. HTML is not a programming language.
2. Scripts
Scripts is an interpreted program that runs on the client computer. It is written in a scripting language.
3. Applet
A small save program that can be embedded in an HTML page is called an applet.
4. Servlet
An applet that runs on a web server is called a servlet.
Scripting languages
- JAVA
- Java Script
- VB Script
- PERL → Practical Extraction and Report Language.
- DHTML → Dynamic Hyper Text Markup Language.
- XML → Extensible Markup Language
- XTHML → Extensible Hyper Text Markup Language.
Data Processing & Database Management System
Data
A collection of raw facts and figures is called data.
Example:
Students fill out an admission form when they get admission to college. The form consists of raw facts about the students. These raw facts are the student’s name, father’s name, address, etc. The purpose of collecting this data is to maintain the records of the students during their study period in college.
Information
Information is the processed form of data. It is more meaningful than data and it is used for making decisions.
Example:
In colleges and universities, the raw facts about students are stored on admission forms. If we want to find a list of all students who live in Faisalabad, we will apply some processing to this data. This processing will give us the desired list. This list is a form of processed data and will be called information.
Types of Data:
- Numeric Data (0 to 9)
- Alphabetic Data (A to Z)
- Alphanumeric Data (0 to 9, A–Z)
- Image Data
- Audio Data
- Video Data
Data Processing
A process of converting data into meaningful information is called data processing Data Processing Information
Electronic Data Processing
In electronic data processing, all calculations and processing are performed by computers.
Metadata
Metadata can be defined as data about data.
Database
A database is an organized collection of related data. The word organized means that data is stored in such a way that the user can store manipulate and retrieve data easily. The word related means that the database is normally created to store data about a particular topic.
Field
A combination of one or more characters is called a field. It is the smallest unit of data that can be accessed by the user.
Record
A collection of related fields treated as a single unit is called a record.
File
A collection of related records treated as a single unit is called a file.
Keys
A key is an attribute or set of attributes that uniquely identifies a tuple in a relation.
Primary Key
An attribute or set of attributes that uniquely identifies a raw or a record in a relation is known as the primary key.
- A relationship can have only one primary key
- Each value in the primary key attribute must be unique
- The primary key can not contain null values
Candidate Key
The attribute or set of attributes that can be used as the primary key is called the candidate key.
Alternate Key
The candidate keys that are not selected as primary keys are known as alternate keys.
Composite Key
A primary key that consists of two or more attributes is known as a composite key.
Foreign Key
A foreign key is an attribute or set of attributes in a relation whose values match the primary key in another relation.
Relationship
A relationship is a logical connection between different tables.
OODB → Object Oriented Database
SQL → Structured Query Language
DDL → Data Definition Language
DBMS → Database Management System
Information System Development
System
A system is a set of elements or components that interact with one another to achieve a common goal. Elements of System: Input, Processing, and Output
Information System
An information system (IS) is a collection of hardware, software, data, people, and procedures that work together to produce quality information.
OTS → Office Information System
MIS → Management information system
DSS → Decision support system
EAI → Enterprise Application Integration
SCH → Supply Chain Management
KMS → Knowledge Management System
SDLC → System Development Life Cycle
DFD → Data Flow Diagram
ERD → Entity Relationship Diagram
UML → Unified Modeling Language
OOA → Object-Oriented Analysis
FAST → Facilitated Application
QFD → Quality Function Deployment
INTERNET AND EMAIL
Internet
Network of networks.
TCP/IP→ Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
History of Internet
The Internet’s development began in the 1960s during the Cold War between Russia and America. America wanted to communicate with its armed forces. They developed a network of four computers in the beginning for this purpose.
ARPANET
Russia launched the Sputnik satellite and America developed a network known as ARPANET during the Cold War. It was designed for the Advance Research Project Agency (ARPA).
Paul Baran
In 1964, Paul Baran published a paper on Distributed Communication Networks. It was a theoretical idea for data transfer.
NCP Protocol
Network control protocol–1970
DARPA
Defense Advanced Research Project Agency.
TCP/IP
Stanford Research Institute Developed TCP/IP.
BITNET & CSNET
BITNET stands for Because It’s Time Network. CSNET stands for Computer Science Network.
DSL → Digital Subscriber Line
DNS → Domain Name System
ICANN → Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
WWW → Digital Subscriber Line
Email stands for Electronic Mail.
Junk Email
A junk email is an unwanted email. It is also known as spam.
Email Address
Every email account has a unique address. An email address usually has two parts:
User ID
Identity of email service
Different Parts of Email Account
1. Inbox
Inbox is a folder that contains all incoming messages.
2. Junk Folder
Junk Folder Contains suspicious or unwanted emails.
3. Deleted or Trash
The deleted or trash folder is used to store the deleted emails.
4. Sent
Sent is a folder that contains all email messages that have been sent.
Parts of an Email Message
1. TO
TO is used to enter the email address of the person who will receive the email.
2. CC
CC stands for Carbon Copy. You use it to enter the email address of another person, and it sends a copy of the email to this email address.
3. BCC
Blind Carbon Copy. It works similar to CC. The difference is that the recipient cannot
see the email addresses typed in this box.
4. Subject
It is used to write the subject of the message.
5. Message
It is the big text box below the subject.
6. Attach Files
The process of attaching files with Emails
Address Book
An address book is a collection of different email addresses. People use it to permanently store important emails and related information.
LSD→ Least Significant Digit (LSD)
MSD→ Most Significant Digit (MSD)
Mailing List
A mailing list is a group of email addresses. Everyone on the mailing list receives an email sent to the mailing list. Listserv is a popular software program to manage many educational mailing lists.
VOIP → Voice Over Intent Protocol
E-Commerce → Electronic Commerce
FTP → File Transfer Protocol
IRC → Internet Relay Chat
IM → Instant Messaging
HTTP → Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
HTML → Hyper Text Markup Language
URL → Uniform Resource Locator
ISP → Internet Service Provider
Mozilla Firefox
Released → 2004
Internet Explorer
Microsoft → 1995 (Released)
Safari
2003 by Apple
Google Chrome
2008 (Released)
Computer Crime/Cyber Crime
People commit computer crimes when they use a computer as the target or tool for an illegal activity.
Security
Someone uses a security system to protect a computer system and data.
Data Security
Data security is the term used to protect data.
Firewall
A firewall is a set combination of hardware and software that prevents unauthorized access to a network.
Backup
Backup is the act of storing an additional copy of data or information on secondary storage media
Encryption
Some Strong encryption algorithms should be used. Encryption is a process of encoding data so that only authorized users may understand and use it. If an unauthorized person gets access to the data, he should not be able to understand it.
Worms
A worm is a program that copies itself repeatedly in memory or in disk until there is no space. The computer may stop working in this situation. The worm spreads from one computer to another through the network. Some examples of worms are SQL Slammer, the Blaster worm, Sasser, I LOVE YOU, and Melissa Worm→ Write Once Read Many
Hacking
Hacking is the act of illegally accessing a computer or a network.
DOS→ Denial of Service
(i). Logic Bombs (ii). Worms (iii). Trojan Horse
Antivirus
People use antivirus software to detect and remove viruses, worms, adware, etc.
Examples:
(i). Symantec Antivirus (ii). McAfee (iii). AVG
(iv). Kaspersky (v). Bit Defender (vi). NOD32
AVG → Antivirus Guard
EPA → Environmental Protection Agency
ACM → Association for Computer Machinery
CASE → Computer Aided Software Engineering
CAD → Computer-Aided Design
CAE → Computer Aided Engineering
RAD → Rapid Application Development
Internet
The Father of the internet was Vinton Gray Cerf (American) in the 1960s.
Search Engines
The oldest search engine is a web crawler.
Yahoo
Founded: January 1994
Headquarter: California
Founders : Jerry Yang and David Filo
Current CEO: Marissa Mayer Ali Web May 1994`
Founded on: September 4, 1998
Headquarter: California
Founders: Larry Page + Sergey Brain
Current CEO: Sundar Pichai largest search engine in the world.
Sundar Pichai.
Microsoft
Founded on: April 4, 1975
Headquarter: Washington D.C
Founders: Bill Gates + Paul Allen
Current CEO: Satya Nadella
Apple
Founded on: April 1, 1976
Headquarter: California
Founders : Steve jobs + Steve + Wozniat + Ronald Wayne
Current CEO: Tim Cook or Timothy Donald Cook
Amazon
Founded in: July 5, 1994
Headquarter: Washington D.C
Founder: Jeff Bezos
Current CEO: Andy Jassy
Ali Baba
Founded in: 28 June 1999
Founder: Jack Ma
Current CEO: Daniel Zhang
Founded in: Feb 4, 2004
Headquarter: California
Founder: Mark Zuckerberg
Current CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
YouTube
Founded in: February 2005
Headquarter: California
Founders: Chad Hurley + Steve Chen + Jawed Karim
Current CEO : Susan Wojcicki
Founded in: March 21, 2006
Headquarter: California
Founders : Jack Dorsey + Noah Glass + Biz Stone + Evan Williams
Current CEO: Jack Dorsey
Founded in: January 2009
Headquarter: California
Founders: Jan Koum + Brian Acton
Current CEO: Will Cathcart
Hewlett-Packard (HP)
Founded in: July 2, 1939
Headquarter: California
Founders: Bill Hewlett and David Packard
Current CEO : Enrique Lores
Samsung
Founded on: March 1, 1938
Headquarter: South Korea
Founders: Lee Byung-Chul
IBM (International Business Machine)
Founded in: June 16, 1911
Headquarter: New York (USA)
Founders: Charles Ranlett Flint
Current CEO: Arvind Krishna
Wikipedia
Founded in: January 15, 2001
Headquarter: Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger An online encyclopedia
Current CEO: Katherina Maher
Dell
Founded on: February 1, 1984
Headquarter: Round Rock, Texas (U.S)
Founders: Michael Dell
Current CEO: Michael S. Dell
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
Formed in: 1968
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