Information Technology Fundamentals

Course Title: Information Technology Fundamentals

Course No: CSIT.112

Nature of the Course: Theory + Lab

Semester: 1

Full Marks: 60 + 40

Pass Marks: 24 + 20

Credit Hours: 3

Course Description

Fundamental concept of Information technology, Computer systems, computer hardware and Software, input, output and storage devices, Binary system, programming languages, Data files and DBMS, fundamental concept of telecommunication, networking and internet and application of computer systems.

Course Objectives

This course introduces fundamental concepts of Information Technology and Computer Systems.

Course Contents

1. Computer Concepts

4 hrs

1.1. Ideas of Information, Information Processing and Data

1.2. The Data Processing Cycle

1.3. Examples of computer applications

1.4. Definition of Hardware; broad classes of computers (mainframe, mini and microcomputers) and networks

1.5. Computer programs

1.6. The computer as a programmable device

1.7. Classes of software (system and application)

1.8. Programming languages: purpose, facilities and common examples

2. Computer Hardware

4 hrs

2.1. The Central Processing Unit (Control Unit, Arithmetic and Logic Unit, Main Memory)

2.2. Peripherals

2.3. The organization of a simple computer

2.4. The storage of programs and data

2.5. Data and Control paths in the computer (buses or highways)

2.6. The Fetch-execute Cycle

3. Data

2 hrs

3.1. Its Representation and Input: The Stages (collection, Preparation, verification, input methods)

3.2. Input Devices and Media

3.3. On-line and Off-line peripherals

3.4. Verification and Validation methods

4. Input Devices

2 hrs

4.1. Description of common input devices and media

Keyboards, light pens, mice

Magnetic stripe readers, punched media

Magnetic and optical character recognition, mark readers

4.2. Simple physical principles of operation and practical applications

5. Output Methods, Devices and Media

2 hrs

5.1. Description of Displays, Printers, Plotters and Computer Output on Microfilm

5.2. Simple physical principles of operation and applications

6. Computer Storage

4 hrs

6.1. Levels of storage: register, main and backing store

6.2. Units of storage (bytes and words) and capacities (Kbytes, Mbytes, Gbytes and TBytes)

6.3. Definition of Access Time

6.4. Principles of construction of storage devices

Magnetic tape drives

Magnetic disc drives (floppy and hard drives)

CD-ROM and DVD

Recordable and rewritable compact discs: CD-R and CD-RW

7. The Binary System

5 hrs

7.1. Reasons for employing binary in a computer

7.2. The advantages and disadvantages of binary

7.3. The binary representation of numbers, characters and program instructions

7.4. Octal and Hexadecimal forms

7.5. Conversion between decimal, binary, octal and hexadecimal integers

7.6. Binary addition and Arithmetic overflow

7.7. Boolean logic: Simple AND, OR and NOT functions in two and three variables

7.8. Truth Tables

7.9. Half-adder and Full-adder logic

7.10. Logic diagrams

8. Programming Languages

7 hrs

8.1. Ideas of generations of programming languages

Fourth generation (4GL)

Third generation (‘high level’)

Assembly and binary machine code

8.2. Suitable applications for each level; comparisons between the levels

8.3. Translator programs - compilers, interpreters and assemblers

8.4. Source code and object code

8.5. The concept of ‘visual’ languages

8.6. Java and the platform independence of its programs

8.7. The concept of operating system

Functions of operating system

Component of operating system

Types of operating system

8.8. An overview of UNIX operating system

9. Data Files

4 hrs

9.1. Definitions of file, record, field and character

9.2. The concepts of file organization file access and file processing (updating)

9.3. The main types of data file such as master and transaction

9.4. Serial, sequential and indexed sequential organization

9.5. Direct access and serial access

9.6. Updating sequential (tape or disc) files and indexed sequential files

9.7. Concepts of a simple database

10. Simple Telecommunications

4 hrs

10.1. Serial and Parallel transmission compared

10.2. Simplex, Half-duplex and Duplex modes

10.3. Modems and Multiplexors

10.4. Simple Interfaces

10.5. Character Codes

10.6. Basic communications facilities and the concept of bandwidth

11. Common Applications of Computer Systems

4 hrs

11.1. Non-technical descriptions (purpose, hardware, data, processes, outputs, advantages and limitations)

Banking, Education, Engineering

Police, Hospitals, Credit reference

Meteorology, Airline reservation and Stock control

12. Networking and the Internet

6 hrs

12.1. Concepts of Local Area Networks, Wide Area Networks and the Internet

12.2. Computer network topologies

12.3. The World Wide Web: the concept, its uses and possible disadvantages

12.4. Internet Service Providers

12.5. Web pages: construction and access; the role of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Java

12.6. The concept of electronic mail and its basic uses

12.7. The basic functions of browsers

Laboratory Works

This is the first and introductory course in BSCS and the main objective in lab work in this course is to :

1.Operating Systems Familiarization
2.Desktop Applications Skills
3.Practical Assignments

Text Books

1.Longmans, Glossary of Computing Terms, British Computer Society
2.C S French, Computer Science, Fifth edition; Continuum
3.Geoffrey Knott and Nick Waites, Computing, Third edition; Business Education Publishers
4.Capron and Johnson, Computers: Tools for an Information Age, Eighth edition; Prentice Hall
5.Ray Bradley; Stanley Thornes, Understanding Computer Science
6.Alexis Leon, Mathews Leon, Fundamentals of Information Technology, Leon TechWorld
7.V. Rajaraman, Fundamentals of Computers

Notes:

This syllabus follows the official CSIT curriculum of Far Western University. In case of any doubt or revision, the university's published syllabus shall be considered authoritative. https://cdc.fwu.edu.np/faculties.html

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