Computers and Information Technology - QIAU · ﻢ Ó ¨ Ìا ﻦ ñ P Ìا ﻟﻠّﻪا ﻢﺴ Computers and Information Technology Special English for Students of Computer and

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2nd Edition- 2012

Hassan Rashidi(PhD)

ITزبان تخصصي كامپيوتر و : كتاب

دكتر حسن رشيدي : تأليف سازمان چاپ و انتشارات دانشگاه آزاد اسالمي : ناشر

نيقزوياسالمآزاددانشگاه محمد ميرزائي : ناظر فني

1390 : سال انتشار1390زمستان،دوم : نوبت چاپنسخه2000 : شمارگان

تومان6500 : قيمت978-964-223-135-5 : شابك

-1344رشيدي، حسن، : سرشناسه

.حسن رشيدي/ ITزبان تخصصي كامپيوتر و : عنوان و نام پديدآور

].2ويراست[ : وضعيت ويراست

.1390، دانشگاه آزاد اسالمي، واحد قزوين:قزوين : مشخصات نشر

.مصور، جدول: .ص277 : مشخصات ظاهري

5-135-223-964-978 : شابك

فيپا : وضعيت فهرست نويسي

يعنوان به انگليس .Computers and information technology : special English for students of computer and IT : يادداشت

كامپيوتر--هاي قرائتكتاب--زبان انگليسي : موضوع

)عالي(راهنماي آموزشي --زبان انگليسي : موضوع

.دانشگاه آزاد اسالميسازمان چاپ و انتشارات : شناسه افزوده

PE : كنگره رده بندي 1127 / ك2ر5 1390

428/64024004 : رده بندي ديويي

2606175 : شماره كتابشناسي ملي

*كليه حقوق چاپ و نشر براي ناشر محفوظ است* 02813675787 قزوين، بلوار نخبگان، دانشگاه آزاد اسالمي قزوين: ساختمان مركزي 0281 3688058 :مركز پخش يماي دانش، نشر كتاب دانشگاهي، كيان رايانه، عابد، علوم پويا، ديانتس :مراكز فروش تهران www.qiau.ac.ir: آدرس سايت

[email protected] :پست الكترونيك

Computers and Information Technology

Copyrights © Dr. Rashidi i

Preface

This book is a concise textbook in Computers and Information Technology. It is

designed as a reference book for the Senior Students of Computer and Information

Technology, who want to learn the most important terminologies and concepts in the

Special English course.

I have been teaching special English for Students of Computers and IT for several

years in Universities in Iran. Many students have registered this course as a General

Course to improve their average score. Some of them has complained that the course

neither help them in teaching English nor learning technical information. They

expressed that the today's references are out-off-date and do not support other

courses. I had several discussions with my colleagues on teaching this course. The

lecturers had the same opinions on the matter. Some students and lecturers asked for

an up-to-date and off-the-shelf material to be prepared as a supporter of other

courses.

I, therefore, decided to collect and codify information in this field to provide the

students with the most important terminologies in computers and information

technology. This book is structured into 12 chapters, which is designed to be taught

in a semester. All chapters, except Chapter 6, are prepared into approximately the

same size in number of pages so that each one could be taught in a week. Chapters 1

and 12 are organized into a shorter text. Since these chapters are taught at the

Preface

Copyrights © Dr. Rashidi ii

beginning and the finishing sessions of semester, they make some opportunities for

assessment of students and answering their questions over the subjects discussed in

the book, respectively. A couple of weeks may be considered adequate for teaching

Chapter 6.

This book is focused on a limited set of concepts and terminologies, and explains

their application in an Information Technology environment. It is assumed that

students have some experience from passing the fundamentals of Computer and

Programming and the advanced programming course.

It is suggested that the lecturers follow the subsequent guidelines for teaching this

book:

Assessment: The questions at the end of the first chapter can be used to

assess the students‘ basic knowledge of concepts in Computers and

Information Technology.

Key Terminologies: Each chapter is preceded by some key

terminologies. The students must study these terminologies before teaching

the material of each chapter. Although explaining some terminologies are

necessary, it is not recommended that the lecturers spend too much time on

the terminologies.

The End-Chapter Questions: After teaching each chapter in a

session/week, the students must answer the questions as homework. Their

answers can be reviewed and checked by the lecturers at the beginning/end

of next session/week. Answering some questions may need using the

Internet.

Useful Web Sites: Some useful Web Sites are provided at the end of

the book. Depending on the level of students, lecturers may find some

specific texts from the web sites for discussion with the students in the class.


Copyrights © Dr. Rashidi iii

I would be most grateful if students or lecturer would send me their suggestions over

this material.

My Email Address:

[email protected]

My Web Site:

http://atu-ir.academia.edu/HassanRashidi

http://qiau.ac.ir/rashidi.info

mailto:[email protected]

http://atu-ir.academia.edu/HassanRashidi


Copyrights © Dr. Rashidi iv

Acknowledgements

Many people have helped me in various ways in the preparation of this

book. First of all, I am grateful to Dr. Mousakhani for his support. My thanks too to

colleagues who have commented on this book at various stages of its development;

in particular, Dr. Moeen, and Mr. Sepasmoghadam.

I would like to express my appreciation to my colleagues, Fatemeh Kiaee

and Babak Bagheri, the editors in charge of this volume. I have had wonderful

support from a number of people at Qazvin Islamic Azad University Publication:

Mr. Zarei,.

Above all, my greatest thanks go to my family, for their patience,

encouragement, and support while I was working on this book.


Copyrights © Dr. Rashidi v

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................. 1

1.1 The Computer System ..................................................................................... 1 1.2 Working with Windows .................................................................................. 3 1.3 Applications Software ..................................................................................... 5 1.4 Going Online .................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................... 8 1.6 End-Chapter Questions ................................................................................... 8

1.6.1 Multiple-Choice Questions ....................................................................... 8 1.6.2 Fill-in-the-Blank Questions: .................................................................. 17 1.6.3 Matching Questions ................................................................................ 19

Chapter 2: Global Village, Information Technology and

Computers .................................................................................... 21 Key Terminologies ............................................................................................... 22 2.1 The Global Village: An Information Society .............................................. 24 2.2 Information Technology Competency ......................................................... 25

2.2.1 What is Information Technology Competency? .................................. 26 2.2.2 IT Competency Assessment ................................................................... 27

2.3 The Challenge in the 21st Century ................................................................ 28

2.4 Impact of Information Technology .............................................................. 29 2.4.1 Impact of IT: Today .............................................................................. 29 2.4.2 Impact of IT: Future ............................................................................. 29

2.5 From Personal Computers to Supercomputers .......................................... 30 2.5.1 Personal Computers: Up Close and Personal ...................................... 31 2.5.2 Handheld Computers: A Computer in Hand is better than… ........... 34 2.5.3 Workstations: Hot Rods ......................................................................... 34 2.5.4 Server Computers: Corporate Workhorses ......................................... 35 2.5.5 Supercomputers: Processing Giants ..................................................... 36 2.5.6 The Computer's Generations ................................................................ 36

2.6 Computer System Capabilities ..................................................................... 37 2.6.1 The Computer’s Strengths ..................................................................... 38 2.6.2 Disadvantages of Computers ................................................................. 39

2.7 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................... 41 2.8 End-Chapter Questions ................................................................................. 41

2.8.1 True/False Questions .............................................................................. 41

Table of Contents

Copyrights © Dr. Rashidi vi

2.8.2 Multiple-Choice Questions ..................................................................... 42

Chapter 3: Computer Software .................................... 47

Key Terminologies ............................................................................................... 47 3.1 The Operating System ................................................................................... 51

3.1.1 Operating System Functions .................................................................. 52 3.1.2 The User Interface .................................................................................. 52 3.1.3 PC Operating Systems and Platforms .................................................. 53

3.2 Working with Windows ................................................................................ 54 3.2.1 Desktop .................................................................................................... 54 3.2.2 Working with Files ................................................................................. 57 3.2.3 Help: F1 ................................................................................................... 59 3.2.4 Sharing information among applications ............................................. 59

3.3 Productivity Software: The Software Suite ................................................ 60 3.4 Cornucopia of PC Software .......................................................................... 61 3.5 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................... 62 3.6 End-Chapter Questions ................................................................................. 62

3.6.1 True/False Questions .............................................................................. 62 3.6.2 Multiple-Choice Questions ................................................................... 63

Chapter 4: Internet and Going Online ........................ 67

Key Terminologies ............................................................................................... 68 4.1 The Internet ................................................................................................... 72

4.1.1 Connecting to the Internet: Narrowband and Broadband ................ 73 4.1.2 Retrieving and Viewing Information on the Internet.......................... 75

4.2 Internet Browsers .......................................................................................... 76 4.3 Internet Resources and Applications ........................................................... 78 4.4 Internet Issues ................................................................................................ 81 4.5 Chapter Summary ......................................................................................... 82 4.6 End-Chapter Questions ................................................................................. 82

4.6.1 True/False Questions .............................................................................. 82 4.6.2 Multiple-Choice Questions ..................................................................... 83

Chapter 5: Computer Hardware-The System Unit .... 87

Key Terminologies ............................................................................................... 88 5.1 Digital: The Language of Computers .......................................................... 92

5.1.1 Binary Digits: 1 and 0 ............................................................................. 92 5.1.2 Character Encoding Systems: Bits and Bytes ...................................... 92

5.2 The PC System Unit ...................................................................................... 94 5.2.1 The Motherboard: The Central Nervous System ................................ 94 5.2.2 The Processor: Computer on a Chip .................................................... 94 5.2.3 The Memory: Digital Warehouse .......................................................... 96 5.2.4 Putting It All Together with Buses and Ports ...................................... 98 5.2.5 PC Growth: Adding Capabilities ........................................................ 100

5.3 Describing the Processor and Its Performance ......................................... 101 5.4 Processor Design .......................................................................................... 103 5.5 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................... 103


Copyrights © Dr. Rashidi vii

5.6 End-Chapter Questions ............................................................................... 104 5.6.1 True/False Questions: ........................................................................... 104 5.6.2 Multiple-Choice Questions ................................................................... 105

Chapter 6: Computer Hardware-Storage and

Input/Output Devices................................................... 107

Key Terminologies ............................................................................................. 108 6.1 Magnetic Disk Storage ................................................................................ 113

6.1.1 Storage Technologies ............................................................................ 114 6.1.2 Disk Organization ................................................................................. 116 6.1.3 Disk Speed ............................................................................................. 118 6.1.4 Virtual Memory: Disk Imitating RAM ............................................... 118

6.2 Optical Laser Discs ...................................................................................... 118 6.3 Input Devices ................................................................................................ 121

6.3.1 The Keyboard ....................................................................................... 121 6.3.2 The Mouse and Other Point-and-Draw Devices ................................ 122 6.3.3 Scanners ................................................................................................. 123 6.3.4 Magnetic Stripes and Smart Cards ..................................................... 124 6.3.5 Speech Recognition ............................................................................... 124 6.3.6 Digital Cameras: Digicams .................................................................. 125 6.3.7 Handheld and Wearable Data Entry Devices .................................... 126

6.4 Output Devices ............................................................................................. 126 6.4.1 Monitors ................................................................................................ 126 6.4.2 Data Projectors ..................................................................................... 128 6.4.3 Printers .................................................................................................. 128 6.4.4 Sound Systems ...................................................................................... 129 6.4.5 Voice-Response Systems ....................................................................... 129

6.5 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................... 129 6.6 End-Chapter Questions ............................................................................... 130

6.6.1 True/False Questions: ........................................................................... 130 6.6.2 Multiple-Choice Questions ................................................................... 131

Chapter 7: Computer Networks and Networking .... 135

Key Terminologies ............................................................................................. 136 7.1 The Wired World ........................................................................................ 141 7.2 Data Communications Hardware .............................................................. 142 7.3 Data Communications Channel ................................................................. 144 7.4 Networks ....................................................................................................... 148 7.5 Home Networking ........................................................................................ 151 7.6 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................... 151 7.7 End-Chapter Questions ............................................................................... 152


Chapter 8: Information Technology- Ethics, Privacy,

and Crime ..................................................................... 157

Table of Contents

Copyrights © Dr. Rashidi viii

Key Terminologies ............................................................................................. 158 8.1 Ethics in Information Technology .............................................................. 160 8.2 Workplace Ethics: Healthy Computing .................................................... 161 8.3 The Privacy of Personal Information ........................................................ 163 8.4 Computers and IT Crimes .......................................................................... 164 8.5 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................... 169 8.6 End-Chapter Questions ............................................................................... 169


Chapter 9: E-Commerce, Databases, and Security .. 173

Key Terminologies ............................................................................................. 173 9.1 E-Commerce: Electronic Commerce ......................................................... 177 9.2 Databases: Information Storage and Retrieval ....................................... 183 9.3 Security: Concerning Protection of Information ...................................... 186

9.3.1 Computer-Center Security .................................................................. 186 9.3.2 Internet and E-Commerce Security .................................................... 188 9.3.3 Information Systems Security ............................................................. 189 9.3.4 PC Security ............................................................................................ 190

9.4 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................... 190 9.5 End-Chapter Questions ............................................................................... 192


Chapter 10: Emerging Technologies in Information

Systems .......................................................................... 197

Key Terminologies ............................................................................................. 198 10.1 Leveraging Information Technology as a Competitive Strategy........... 200 10.2 Information Systems and Decision Making ............................................ 200 10.3 Management Information Systems and Processing Capabilities .......... 202 10.4 The DSS and the Executive Information System .................................... 204 10.5 Artificial Intelligence ................................................................................. 207 10.6 Virtual Reality ........................................................................................... 209 10.7 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................... 209 10.8 End-Chapter Questions ............................................................................. 210

10.8.1 True/False Questions: ......................................................................... 210 10.8.2 Multiple-Choice Questions ................................................................. 210

Chapter 11: Information Systems Development ...... 213

Key Terminologies ............................................................................................. 214 11.1 The System Life Cycle ............................................................................... 218 11.2 System Development Technique and Concepts ...................................... 219

11.2.1 Data Flow Diagrams ........................................................................... 220 11.2.2 Entity Relationship Diagrams ........................................................... 220

11.3 Computer-Aided Software Engineering .................................................. 222 11.4 Prototyping ................................................................................................. 223 11.5 System Conversion and Implementation ................................................. 226


Copyrights © Dr. Rashidi ix

11.6 Programming ............................................................................................. 227 11.6.1 Types of Programming Languages ................................................... 228 11.6.2 Writing the Program .......................................................................... 229

11.7 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................... 230 11.8 End-Chapter Questions ............................................................................. 231

11.8.1True/False Questions: .......................................................................... 231 11.8.2 Multiple-Choice Questions ................................................................. 231

Chapter 12: Careers in Information Technology ..... 235

Key Terminologies ............................................................................................. 236 12.1 Career Opportunities for the IT-Competent Minority .......................... 236 12.2 Working at Home ...................................................................................... 237 12.3 Opportunities for IT Specialists ............................................................... 239 12.4 Licensing and Certification....................................................................... 241 12.5 Getting a Job .............................................................................................. 241 12.6 Jobs are Changing ..................................................................................... 241 12.7 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................... 242 12.8 End-Chapter Questions ............................................................................. 243

12.8.1 True/False Questions: ......................................................................... 243 12.8.2 Multiple-Choice Questions ................................................................. 243

References and Some Useful Web Sites ..................... 245

Index .............................................................................. 251


Copyrights © Dr. Rashidi xi

List of Figures

Figure 2-1: Computers are present in every aspect of our daily life- in the

workplace, at home, and in the classroom. .......................................... 26

Figure 2-2: Examples of common computer hardware components include a

keyboard, mouse, microphone, scanner, digital camera, PC video

camera, printer, monitor speakers, system unit, disk drives, USB flash

drive, card reader/writer, and modem. ................................................. 33

Figure 3-1: This Windows desktop shows a variety of icons and buttons, Start menu,

and application window. ...................................................................... 56

Figure 4-1: Internet is a worldwide collection of networks that links together

millions of business, governments, educational institutions, homes and

individuals. ........................................................................................... 73

Figure 4-2: Common ways to access the Internet are through a regional or national

ISP, an online service provider, a wireless service provider, or a local

area network that is connected to an Internet host. .............................. 76

Figure 5-1: The system unit houses the motherboard (including the processor,

memory and various expansions boards) and various storage devices. 95

Figure 5-2: Executing an instruction involves the fetching, decoding, executing, and

storing steps that form a machine cycle. .............................................. 97

Figure 5-3: The system unit has many ports that are interface to allow you to

connect peripheral devices such as printer, mouse, or keyboard to the

computer. ............................................................................................. 99

Figure 6-1: A Comparison of different types of storage media and memory in terms

of relative speed and uses. ................................................................. 114

Figure 6-2: Tracks form circles on the surface of a magnetic disk. The disk's storage

locations are divided into pie-shaped sections, which break the tracks

into small arcs called sectors.............................................................. 117

List of Figures

Copyrights © Dr. Rashidi xii

Figure 6-3: How a laser reads data on an optical disc. ........................................... 120

Figure 6-4: The most popular types of mouse and point-and-draw devices ........... 123

Figure 7-1: An example of sending a request over the Internet using a

communications channel. ................................................................... 144

Figure 9-1: In the relational model, all data elements are placed in tables. The

Student table is linked to the Schedule table through the Student ID

column. The Schedule table is linked to the Course table through the

Course Code column. ......................................................................... 185

Figure 11-1: The Data Flow Diagram shows the flow of data in a system. ........... 220

Figure 11-2: The Entity Relationship Diagram shows the relationships among

entities in a system ............................................................................. 221


Copyrights © Dr. Rashidi xiii

List of Tables

Table 2-1: A classification of the Computer Generations based on four features ... 37

Table 4-1: Some popular search engines .................................................................. 79

Table 5-1: The ASCII bit sting of commonly used characters ................................. 93

Table 5-2: A comparison of some of the more widely used processors ................. 101

Table 7-1: The transfer rates of various wireless transmission media .................... 147

Table 8-1: Some of The ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) code of

Ethics .................................................................................................... 162

Table 9-1: Measures to keep personal data private ................................................. 191

Table 12-1: The advantages and disadvantages of working at home...................... 239

Table 12-2: Some companies/institutes that offer certificates. ............................... 242

Documents

Computers and Information Technology - QIAU · ﻢ Ó ¨ Ìا ﻦ ñ P Ìا ﻟﻠّﻪا ﻢﺴ Computers and Information Technology Special English for Students of Computer and