Chapter 4: Software Basics: The Ghost in the Machine

Open Source-open to the public.

Non-open source- not open to the public.

Linus Torvalds and the Software Nobody Knows

• Linus Torvalds- a genius
  
• Created the Linux


• It is the best known example of open source software


• It powers Web servers, film and animation workstations, scientific supercomputers, and a handful of handhelds.


• Open source software: open for the public and it is reliable because of constant updates.


• means you can change the code behind the system or software.


• Three major categories of software:


• Compliers and other tranlator programs: enable programmers to create othe rsoftware.


• sees the syntax of your code if it's right or wrong.


• Example: Intel compliers like translator


• Software applications: serve as productivity tools to help computer users solve problems.


• Example: Microsoft Word like product


• System software : coordinates hardware operations and does behind-the-scenes work the computer user seldom sees.
  

Processing with Programs

• Food for thought


• The hardware in acomputer system is equipped to produce whatever output a user requests.


• Example: iIf you have a recipe for french toast- that is your input, then if you mix the ingreidients all together then- your result is the output.


• Set of rules to solve a pro


• A fast, stupid machine


• Programmers begin with an algorithm: a set of step-by-step instructions written in a natural languafe,e.g,English


• The steps are cpmplicated, long and error pone


• The steps are translated into the vocabulary

Sofware Applications: Tools for Users

• Consumer Applications


• Many software companies have replaced their printed documentation.


• Tutorials


• Reference Materials


• Help files


• On-line help


• Upgrading: Users can upgrade a program to the new version by paying an upgrade fee the the software manufacturer.


• Ex:Itunes


• Newer releases often have additional features and fewer bugs-an error.


• Compatibility


• It allows to function properly with the hardware, operating system, and peripherals.


• Programs written for one type of computer system may not work on another.


• Ex:Macintosh and Intel


• Disclaimers


• Software manufacturers limit their liability for software problems by selling software "as is"


• Created whether you like it or not; don't use it.


• Licensing: Commercial software is copyrightes so it can't be legally duplicated for distribution.


• Software license


• Volume license


• Distribution: Software is distributed via:


• Direct sale


• Retail stores


• Mail-order catalogs


• Web sites


• Not all software is copyrighted.


• Public domain software


• Shareware- search to make sure software isn't copyrighted.


• Web applications


• Web applications fall into several categories:


• Some simple Web applications perform simple data-processing tasks that could also be performed by traditional programs running on stand-alone PCs.


• Ex: Flashplayer,etc....


• Most Web applications take advantage of the Web's strength as a huge repository


• of information.


• Ex: pictures and outside info


• Many Web applications leverage the Web's strength as a huge repository of information.


• Some Web applications support online business transactions.


• News-oriented Web applications provide up-to-the minute reports on a myriad(countless)of subjects.


• Other Web applications support a more traditional form of information broadcasting.
  

Project Theory

Introduction to project cycle

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.

SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle)

Project Identification & Selection - Project Initiation & Planning - Analysis - Logical Design -
Physical Design - Implementation - Maintenance.

What is a project?

A project is a sequence of unique, complex, and connected activities having one goal or purpose and that must be completed by a specific time, within budget, and according to specifications.

Project Management Criteria

• Projects are oriented towards a goal.


• There is something unique about every project.


• Projects have a finite duration.- It ends.


• Projects require coordination of interrelated activities.

What is Project Management?

• Project management is a set of principles and tools for:


• Defining


• Planning


• Executing


• Controlling and..


• Completeing a PROJECT

Why is Project Management important?

• Organize your approach


• Generate a credible schdule


• Track progress and control your project


• Identify where to focus your efforts


• Identify problems early-before they are crises


• Saves you TIME..and MONEY.


• If you fail to plan, plan to fail.

Project Phases

1. Assessment


2. Planning


3. Implementation


4. Evaluation

Project Cycle Management (PCD)

Assessment (of needs, situation)

• Observing a problem


• Analysing it


• Defining the need


• Deciding on an action


• Answering W-questions (Laswell)
  

W-questions

•Who, for whom, with whom, etc.?
•What?
•Why?
•Where?
•When?
•How?

Planning

• Think the way the client is thinking .


• Know everything about theie business/occupation.


• Needs Analysis of the organization, its values, activities and relevancy.


• Own Motivation


• Definition of aims (general) and concrete objectives.


• Selection of methodology, activities


• Plan of activities – schedule


• Resources: human, financial, material, time


• Organization of the project: team, partners

• Outline of the project/project fiche

• Risks assessment strategy
  

Concrete Objectives

SMART:Specifc Measurable Achieveable Realistic Timed

Chapter 3:Hardware Basics:Peripherals

Hardware Basics: Peripherals
Chapter 3 Objectives

• List several examples of input devices and explain how they can make it easier to get different types of information into the computer.



• List several examples of output devices and explain the how they make computers more useful.



• Explain why a typical computer has different types of storage devices.



• Diagram how the components of a computer system fit together.
  
  Input: From Person to Processor
  
  
  Keyboard



• The most familiar input device



• Used to enter letters, numbers and special characters



• Standard keyboard



• Ergonomic keyboards



• To address possible medical problems



• Wireless keyboard



• Folding keyboards



• Used with palm-sized computers



• One-handed keyboards



• Keyboards printed on membranes

Pointing Devices

• Mouse



• Touchpad



• Pointing stick



• Trackball



• Joystick



• Graphics tablet



• Touch screen



• Stylus



• Reading Tools



• Read marks representing codes specifically designed for computer input
  



• Optical-mark readers



• Magnetic-ink character readers



• Bar-code readers



• Pen scanners



• Tablet PC



• Smart whiteboard



• Radio Frequency Identification Readers (RFID)
  
  Digitizing the Real World
  


• Scanners capture and digitize printed images.



• Flatbed



• Slide



• Drum



• Sheet-fed
  



• Digital camera



• Snapshots captured as digital images



• Digital images stored as bit patterns on disks or other digital storage media
  



• Video digitizer



• Capture input from a:



• Video camera



• Video cassette recorder or television



• Convert it to a digital signal



• Stored in memory and displayed on computer screens



• Videoconferencing



• People in diverse locations can see and hear each other



• Used to conduct long-distance meetings



• Video images transmitted through networks
  
• Audio digitizers
  
• Digitize sounds from Microphones


• Other input devices
  
• Digital signals can be stored


• A digital signal processing chip compresses the stream of bits before it is transmitted to the CPU.


• Speech recognition software


• Converts voice data into words that can be edited and printed
  
• Sensors


• Designed to monitor physical conditions


• Temperature, humidity, pressure


• Provide data used in:


• Robotics


• Environmental climate control


• Weather forecasting


• Medical monitoring


• Biofeedback
  
• Scientific research
  
  Output: From Pulses to People
  
• Screen Output


• A monitor or video display terminal (VDT) displays characters, graphics, photographic images, animation and video.


• Video adapter—connects the monitor to the computer.


• VRAM or video memory—a special portion of RAM to hold video images.


• The more video memory, the more picture detail is displayed.
  
  Color depth
  1-bit depth
  4-bit depth
  8-bit depth
  16-bit depth
  
• Monitor classes


• CRTs (cathode-ray tubes)


• LCDs (liquid crystal displays)
  • Overhead projection panels
  • Video projectors
  • Portable computers
  


• Paper Output


• Printers produce paper output or hard copy.


• Two basic groups of printers:


• Impact printers
  • Line printers
  • Dot-matrix printers
• Non-impact printers
  • Laser printers


• Laser beam reflected off a rotating drum to create patterns of electrical charges.


• Faster and more expensive than dot matrix printer.


• High-resolution output
  • Inkjet printers


• Sprays ink onto paper to produce printed text and graphic images.


• Prints fewer pages/minute than laser printer .


• High-quality color; costs less than laser printer.


• Multifunction printer or MFP combines a scanner, printer and a fax modem.


• A plotter can produce large, finely scaled engineering blueprints and maps.
  
• Fax Machines and Fax Modems


• Facsimile (fax) machine


• Sending:
  • scans each page as an image
  • converts the image into a series of electronic pulses
  • sends those signals over phone lines to another fax


• Receiving:
  • uses the signals to reconstruct the image
  • prints black-and-white facsimiles or copies of the originals


• Fax modem


• Connect from PC to fax machine via modem and phone line.


• Output You Can Hear


• Sound card


• Enables the PC to:
  • Accept microphone input
  • Play music and other sound through speakers or headphones
  • Process sound in a variety of ways


• Synthesizers


• Used to produce music, noise


• Controlling Other Machines


• Output devices take bit patterns and turn them into non-digital movements.
  


• Robot arms


• Telephone switchboards


• Transportation devices


• Automated factory equipment


• Spacecraft


• Force feedback joystick
  
  Rules of Thumb: Ergonomics and Health
  
  


• Choose equipment that’s ergonomically designed.


• Create a healthy workspace.


• Build flexibility into your work environment.


• Rest your eyes.


• Stretch to loosen tight muscles.


• Listen to your body.


• Seek help when you need it.
  
  Storage Devices: Input Meets Output
  
• Magnetic Tape


• Can store large amounts of information in a small space at a relatively low cost .


• Limitation: sequential data access


• Used mainly for backup purposes


• Magnetic Disks


• Random data access


• Flopy disks


• Provide inexpensive, portable storage


• Hard disks


• Non-removable, rigid disks that spin continuously and rapidly.


• Provide much faster access than a floppy disk


• Removable media (Zip & Jaz disks)


• Provides high-capacity portable storage
  


• Optical Disks


• Use laser beams to read and write bits of information on the disk surface


• Not as fast as magnetic hard disks


• Massive storage capacity


• Very reliable
  
• CD-ROM


• Optical drives that read CD-ROMs


• CD-R


• WORM media (write-once, read many)


• CD-RW


• Can read CD-ROMs and write, erase and rewrite data onto CD-R & CD-RW disks.


• DVD (Digital Versatile Disks)


• Store and distribute all kinds of data


• Hold between 3.8 and 17 gigabytes of information
• DVD-ROM drives
• Can play DVD movies, read DVD data disks
• Read standard CD-ROMs, and play audio CDs
• Read-only: can’t record data, music, or movies
• DVD-RAM drives
• Can read, erase, and write data (but not DVD video) on multi-gigabyte
• DVD-R (but not CD-R or CD-RW) media
• Solid-State Storage Devices
• Flash memory is an erasable memory chip:
• Sizes range from 16 MB to 1 GB
• Compact alternative to disk storage.
• Contains no moving parts.
• Designed for specific applications such as storing pictures in digital cameras.
• Likely to replace disk and tape storage.
  
  Computer Systems: The Sum of Its Parts
  
  Personal Computer Design Classes
• Tower systems
• Tall, narrow boxes, generally have more expansion slots and bays than other designs.
• Flat desktop systems
• Designed to sit under the monitor like a platform.
• All-in-one systems (like the iMac)
• Combine monitor and system unit into a single housing.
  
• Laptop computers
• Include all the essential components, including keyboard and pointing device, in one compact box.
  
• Ports and Slots Revisited
• The system or motherboard includes several standard ports:
• Serial Port for attaching devices that send/receive messages one bit at a time (modems).
• Parallel Port for attaching devices that send/receive bits in groups (printers).
• Keyboard/Mouse Port for attaching a keyboard and a mouse.
  
• Other ports are typically included on expansion boards rather than the system board:
• A video port is used to plug a color monitor into the video board.
• Microphones, speakers, headphones, MIDI ports are used to attach sound equipment.
• An SCSI port allows several peripherals to be strung together and attached to a single port.

• A LAN port uses faster connections to a local-area network (LAN).
• Expansion Made Easy
• With the PC open architecture and the introduction of new interfaces, you can hot swap devices.
• USB (Universal Serial Bus) transmits a hundred times faster than a PC serial port
• Firewire (IEEE 1394) can move data between devices at 400 or more megabits per second. The high speed makes it ideal for data-intensive work, like digital video.
• FireWire 800, which offers 800 Mbps transfer speeds, was recently introduced on high-end Macintosh systems.
  
  
• Putting It All Together
• A typical computer system might have several different input, output, and storage peripherals—the key is compatibility.
• Networks blur the boundaries between computers.
• Networked computers may have access to all the peripherals on a system.
• The computer is, in effect, just a tiny part of a global system of interconnected networks.
  
  Inventing the Future: Tomorrow’s Peripherals
  
  
• Tomorrow’s Storage
• Smaller disks that hold more
• A single electron memory chip the size of a thumbnail that can store all of the sounds and images of a full-length feature film.
• Tomorrow’s Output
• Flat-panel screens replacing desktop CRTs.
• Retinal displays that work without a screen.
• Tomorrow’s Input: Sensors
• More sophisticated devices will serve as eyes, ears, and other types of sense organs for computer networks.
  Chapter 3 Lesson Summary
  
  
• Peripherals allow computer to communicate with the outside world and store information for later use information.
• The most common input devices today are the keyboard and the mouse. A variety of other input devices can be connected to the computer.
• Output devices perform the opposite function: They accept strings of bits from the computer and transform them into a form that is useful or meaningful outside the computer.
• Storage devices are capable of two-way communication with the computer. Because of their high-speed random access capability, magnetic disks are the most common forms of storage on modern computers.
• Network connections make it possible for computers to communicate with one another directly.

Chapter 2 (continued):The Computer's Memory

RAM (random access memory)

• Used to store program instructions and data temporarily
• Unique addresses and data can be stored in any location
• Can quickly retrieve information
• Will not remain if power goes off (volatile)
  
  ROM (read-only memory)
• Information stored permanently on a chip
• Contains startup instructions and other permanent data
  CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor)
• Special low-energy kind of RAM Flash memory
• Used for phones, pagers, portable computers, handheld computers, and PDAs
  
  Buses, Ports, and Peripherals
• Information travels between components on the motherboard through groups of wires called system buses, or just buses.
  
  Buses
• Typically have 32 or 64 wires
• Connect to storage devices in bay
• Connect to expansion slots
• Connect to external buses and ports
  

Slots and ports

• Make it easy to add external devices, called peripherals.
• New laser etching technology called extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) could reduce chip size and increase performance radically.
• Superconductors that transmit electricity without heat could increase computer speed a hundredfold.
• The optical computer transmits information in light waves rather than electrical pulses.
• A computer manipulates patterns of bits—binary digits of information.
• The CPU follows software instructions, reduced to strings of bits, to perform the calculations and logical manipulations that transform input data into output.
• Not all CPUs are compatible with each other.

The CPU uses:

• RAM (random access memory) as a temporary storage area—a scratch pad—for instructions and data
• ROM (read-only memory), which contains unchangeable information that serves as reference material for the CPU as it executes program instructions
  -The CPU and main memory are housed in silicon chips on the motherboard.

Discussion 8/27/10: Network and Server

Technology Social Issues Application/Input
a.) Network a.) Reliability -Education
b.) Database b.) Integrity - Business
c.) Middle ware c.) Security - Employment
d.) Privacy
e.) Anonymity

• First understand issue-where the person is coming from.
• Before judging, listen-understand
• Ex: Taraweeh and Iphone

Network: Client- one being served

Server: to give, sow, serve client's request.

• The needs haven't changed.
• Tip: Map complex idea to basic need
• becomes simple
• brings everthing back to the basics
• Questions-Intellect-Process
• Relevant questions tie to basic needs.
• Client-server-client
• Person-Google-Browser

Switch-Router

• Client-Server
• Person-Google
• Both computers -server and router

Discussion 8/20/10: Reliability and Integrity

Reliability

Reliability refers to the operation of the hardware the, the design of software, the accuracy of data of the correspondence of data with the real world.

• Data may be unreliable if it is entered incorrectly or if it becomes outdated.
• For example, if a medical record becomes dissociated from the patient it refers to becomes unreliable.
• Consequence: medication could be be proscribed wrongly which the patient may become ill due to a certain medication.
• Virus=defect=bugs
• Fix=pag

Integrity

• Integrity refers to correspondence of data with itself at its creation. Data lacks integrity when it has been changed accidentally or tampered with.
• For example, a hacker might change driver liscense data resulting in arrests of innocent people.

Education
Use of IT in teaching and learning

Hardware and network technologies in the classroom.

Training
Education software research and forums, virtual learning environments (VLE) eBooks, Web 2.0 , education networks, use of mobile device, game-based learning, fully immersive environment, filtering and monitoring of students’ internet use, 1-to-10, m-learning.
Laptop computers, handheld devices, interactive white boards.

Video Clip: Old school, New school

• Chatham Highschool, NJ
• Some teachers have to use technology(i.e: smart boards)
• Others like Rose Porpora don't- she feels like her time is up.
• She argues that students have no focus because of quickness and multi-tasking
• Student says everyone uses spark notes.

Consequences

• Intimidation of teachers
• Students looking down upon teachers because lack of technical expertise.
• Bad teacher and student communication
• Paralysis of intellect because constantly relying technology
• For eaxample, if your constantly relying on a calculator to do your math homework, you'll soon forget your multipulcation and division basics!

The Computer's Core: CPU and Memory THe CPU: The Real Computer CPU:(microprocessor)

Bit
Byte- 8 bits
KB-Kilobyte 1024
MB-Megabyte 1024^2
TB-Terabyte 1024^3
PB-Petabyte 1024^4
EB -Exabyte 1024^5
ZB-Zettabyte 1024^6
YB-Yottabyte 1024^7

CPU: Microprocessor

• Interprets and executes the instructions in each program.
• Supervises arithmetic and logical data manipulations.
• Communicates with all the other parts of the computer system indirectly through memory.
• An extraordinarily complex collection of electronic circuits.
• Housed along with other chips and electronic components on the motherboard.

Compatibilty

• All software is not necessarily compatible with every CPU.
• Software is written for the Power PC family of processors used in Mactinosh computers won't run on Windows.
• Both systems run on PCs powered by Intel's microprocessor.
• CPUs in the same family are generally designed to be backward compatible.
• Newer processors can process all of the instructions handled by earlier models.

Performance

• Applications require faster machines to produce satisfactory results.
• A computer's overall performance is determined by its microprocessor's internal clock speed.
• Measured in units called giga hertz (GHz) for millons of clock cycles per second.
• THe architechture and word size of the processor.
• High-end stations and servers use 69-bit processors.
• Most PCs and Macintoshes use 32-bit processors.
• Some embedded and special-purpose computers still use 8- and 16-bit processors.
• Techniques for speeding up a computer's performance:

1. Parallel processing
2. Server clusters