Question

Describe the various elements of a computer system and explain the distinctive feature of a computer system and manual system.

Answer 1

A computer system is a combination of six elements
(i) Hardware Hardware of computer consists of physical components such as keyboard ,mouse monitor and processor.
(ii) Software A set of programmers which is used to work with such hardware , is called its software . A coded set of instruction stored in the from of circuits is called firmware. There are six types of software as fallows.
(a) Operating system
(b) Utility Programmer
(c) Application Software
(d) Language Processors
(e) System Software
(f) Connectivity software
(iii) People People interacting with the computer are also called live - ware of the computer system . they constitute the most important part of the computer system such as System Analysts ,Programmers and Operators.
(iv) Procedures The procedure means a series of operation in certain order or manner to achieve desired results.
There are three types of procedures which constitute technical components. Parts of computer system hardware - oriented ,software -oriented system and internal procedure.
(v) Data these are facts and may consist of number ,text ,etc. These are gathered and entered into a computer system.
(vi) Connectivity The manner in which a particular computer system is connected to other says through telephone lines , microwave transmission,satellite link ,etc. is the elements of connectivity.

Distinct Features of Computer System and Manual System A computer system has some special feature which a manual system fails to maintain .Some of them are as follows
(i) Speed Speed of computer makes it special. normally,human beings take into account a second or a minute as unit of time .But computers have such a fast operating capability that the relevant unit of time is fraction of a second.
(ii) Accuracy It refers to the degree of exactness with which computation are made and operations are performed . Through manual system one might spend years in detecting errors in computer calculation or updating a wrong records. most of the errors in Computer Based Information System (CBIS) occurs because of bad programming ,erroneous data and deviation from procedures. These errors are caused by human beings.
(iii) Reliability Its Refers to the ability with the computers remain functional to serve the user. Computer system are well -adapted to performing repetitive operation .They are immune to tiredness boredom of fatigue. Therefore,they are more reliable than human beings. On the other hand manual system cannot be reliable upto that extent.
(iv) Versatility It refers to the ability of computers to performs a variety of task simple as well as complex . Computers are usually versatile unless designed for a specific application .A general purpose computer is capable of being used in any area of application business,industry ,scientific ,statistical technological ,communications and soon . A general purpose computer ,when installed in an organisation ,can take over the jobs of several specialists because of its versatility.
(v) Storage The computers system ,besides having instant access to data have hug capacity to store such data in very small physical space . on the other hand human brain have some limitations to remember all the events.
It is clear from the above discussion that computers capabilities outperform the human capabilities, As a result ,a computer , when used properly ,will improved the efficiency of an organisation