CMPS 101 Computer Literacy
Dr. Cong-Cong Xing
Dept of Math and Computer Science
Part I
Introduction to Computers and
MS Windows
Introduction to Computer Software
and Hardware
What is a computer?
 This is it!
 Or…?
What is a computer?
 An electronic device that can manipulate
data.

(ok)
 A programmable electronic device that can
store, retrieve, and process data.

(good)
 An electronic device which, under
programmers’ direction and control, performs
input/output, processing, and storage.

(better)
What is a (computer) program?
 A list of instructions telling computers what to
do. (ok)
 An implementation of an algorithm (what?)
in a programming language. (good)
 Examples?




MS Word
MS Excel
Firefox
<your own>
What is an algorithm?
 A precise, step-by-step procedure designed
to solve certain kind of problems.
 examples

Sort the following sets of numbers
{2, 3, 1, 45, 23, 67, 23, 21, 6}
{2, 3, 56, 444, 33, 666, 777,66,5, 390, 34,
34, 56, 66, 55, 78, 34, 232, 342, 446, ……}
Hardware Components of a Computer
CPU
Input
devices
Storage
devices
(important diagram)
Output
devices
John von
Neumann
architecture
 A more detailed diagram
CPU
 All computers(PCs, mainframes,
supercomputers, ….) are built according to
this diagram/principle
 Developed by John von Neumann
 The old computer: ENIAC (the first
electronic computer, 1940s)
 The new computer: HP 2133 Mini-Note 1
GHz - 8.9 " - 512 MB Ram - 4 GB HDD
Cont’d
 Input devices
 Input data into computers
 E.g. keyboard, mouse
 <your own example>
 Output devices
 Output data out of computers
 E.g. monitor, printer
 <your own example>
 CPU (Central Processing Unit, also called processor)
 The defining-component of a computer
 Two main CPU manufacturers: Intel and AMD
 http://www.amd.com/us-en/
 http://www.intel.com/
 Storage devices (two types)
1st type
2nd type
Cont’d
 Storage Devices

RAM (Random Access Memory)





This is the primary type, main type, 1st type
memory
Hard disk, floppy disk
They are the
2nd type
optical disk (CDs, DVDs)
memory
jump drive, flash memory
(Note: in most cases in the literature, the word
“memory” means RAM)
RAM (memory)
Desktop
laptop
 Hard disk (HD) (most people call it hard drive)
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eMWG3f
wiEU
Source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eMWG3fwiEU
 Jump drive (USB drive)
 Flash memory (flash card)
 CD/DVD/Blu-ray Disc
 Difference between the 1st type storage
device (i.e. memory) and the 2nd type storage
devices



Memory stores info temporarily
All 2nd storage devices store info permanently
Question: how come….
KB, MB, GB, Hz,….
 1 bit = 1 or 0
 1 byte = 8 bits
 1 K (kilo) = 1000 (roughly)
 1 M (mega) = 1000K (roughly)
 1 G (giga) = 1000M (roughly)
 So, 2 GB = 2 x 1000 x 1000 x 1000 bytes
200 MB = 200 x 1000 x 1000 bytes
 1 Hz = number of operations per second
 Can you understand the spec?
Gateway M-7351u Laptop Computer - Intel
Pentium Dual-Core T4200 2.0GHz, 4GB
DDR2 RAM, 320GB HDD, DVDRW, 15.4"
WXGA, Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Computer Science Areas (partial list)
 Operating systems
 Windows XP, Mac OS,
Unix, Linux
 Programming
 Database management
 Theory
 Math foundations
systems

Oracle
 Algorithms
 sorting
 Software engineering
 How to program
“better”
languages

Java, C++
 Architecture
 Hardware
 Artificial intelligence
 Chess, robot
Unix-like Operating Systems
Database Management System
Find all incidents for overlay
Algorithm

Sort the following sets of numbers into
ascending order
{2, 3, 1, 45, 23, 67, 23, 21, 6}
{2, 3, 56, 444, 33, 666, 777,66,5, 390, 34,
34, 56, 66, 55, 78, 34, 232, 342, 446, ……}
Software Engineering
Programming Languages

















public class Lab2
{
public static void main(String args[])
{
// declaration of variables
double a;
// first number, input
double b;
// second number, input
double c;
// the sum of 1st and 2nd number, output
String astr; // string for a
String bstr; // string for b
// read in the 1st number
astr = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter the 1st number");
a = Double.parseDouble(astr);
// echo
System.out.println("You have entered "+a);
// read in the 2nd number
bstr = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter the 2nd number");
Computing Theory
 Domain theory
 Category theory
 Computability theory
 Lambda calculus
 Pi-calculus
 Object-calculus
 …….
 Turing Machine *(Alan Turing)
(Computer Science Turing Award)
Architecture
Artificial Intelligence
 robot
Elements of a Computing Process
 Hardware
 Software
Hw & sw
 Data
 Users
 Procedures
data
data
procedure
users
Review
 What is a computer?
 What is a computer program?
 What is a programming language??
 Give an example of programming languages
 What are the 4 components of a computer system?
 What does “Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz” mean?
 Are hard drive and memory the same thing? Why?
 Give an example of computer science research areas
 Give two examples of operating systems
Processing and Memory
 Processing

Data representation




Sequence of 0’s and 1’s
ASCII (American Standard Code for Info
Interchange) (e.g. A -> 65)
http://www.neurophys.wisc.edu/www/comp/docs/
ascii.html
http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/papers/ascii.html
Cont’d

CPU


Control unit (CU): sets the order of tasks
ALU (arithmetic-logic unit): carry out computation
CU & ALU
write
fetch
RAM
Cont’d

Compatibility:
 different CPUs have different instruction sets

Data bus:
 Connects CPU and RAM and peripherals
 Bus width measured by bits

Address bus:
 Connects CPU and RAM
 Width of address bus determines the max # of RAM
locations. (why?)

CISC vs. RISC
 CISC (complex instruction set computer), expensive,
complex, high speed.
Cont’d
 RISC (reduced instruction set computer), inexpensive,
simple, satisfactory speed

Typical CPU chips




Pentium,
AMD
Power PC series
Alpha series
 Memory
 RAM (Random-access Memory):



the main memory of computers
Cache Memory:
 faster, more expensive
ROM (Read-Only Memory):
 Stores system info, not writable
Cont’d
 Motherboard

The baseboard housing every hardware component (except I/O) for
computation.
How Computers Store Data
 Storage Media


All storage materials described here are nonvolatile (RAM is volatile).
Magnetic tape





Hold large amount of data
Inexpensive
Slow access
Sequential access
Backup
Cont’d

Magnetic disk: random
access, read/write
head.
 Floppy disk, 1.44 mb
(obsolete)
 Hard disk
 Faster
 Holds large amount
of data
 Pack of disks
 Sealed and
encased

Optical disc: holds huge amount of data









CD-ROM
CD-R (Recordable)
CD-RW (Rewritable)
DVD (Digital Video Disk)
DVD-ROM
DVD-R
DVD+R
DVD-RW
DVD+RW
 Storing Data in Files


File: a collection of data stored as an
individual entity.
Types of files:



Program file – executable, e.g., MS Word. In
Windows, an executable file typically has .exe
extension.
Data file – data used by programs, e.g., text files,
graphics
Naming files
name
extension
Program file
Data files

Naming files
name

Ex:







extension
ReadMe.txt
Lab1.docx
Lab2.xlsx
Me.jpg
Car.gif
Player.exe
What if I rename “Me.jpg” to Me.txt”?
 Directory (also known as Folder)

A group of files (and/or subdirectories)
organized in a tree-shape
sp05
eng101
cs101
hw1
hw1
hw2
hw3
 “tree” structure displayed in Windows
Input and Output
 Input Devices



Keyboard: a group of numeric keys, alphabetic
keys, and function keys which are used for
entering data into computers.
Mouse: a device that a user moves on a flat
surface to position a pointer on the screen. It
allows a user to select a choice or a function
to be performed or to perform some
operations on the screen.
Other ex ?
Cont’d
 Output Devices

Monitor





Video display terminal (not computer)
CRT (cathode-ray tube) traditional
Flat panel (LCD) modern
Resolution: pixels (=pix+element), e.g., 800x600,
1024x768
Refresh rate: number of times screen is
refreshed. (60hz is the minimum). The higher,
the more preferable.

Printers

Impact printers
 A printer in which printing is the result of
mechanically striking the printing medium. E.g. dot
matrix printer.
 (almost) obsolete

Non-impact printers
 Laser printer: high quality, (relatively) expensive
 Inkjet printer: good quality, affordable

More ex?
Types of Computers
 Supercomputers





Fastest, largest, most expensive
Measured by gigaflops
Scientific computations
Cary Inc., Silicon Graphics
Price: 2 – 20 millions
 Mainframes


Measured by megaflops
IBM
Cont’d


Large business, universities
Price: 100,000 – 1,000,000
 Minicomputers




Scale-down of mainframe
DEC
Smaller business
Price: 50,000
Cont’d
 Workstations and Microcomputers





Desktop & laptop
Sun, IBM, Apple, Dell, Compaq, Sony, ….
Personal use
Price: 7,000 – 20,000 for workstations
Price: 400 – 4,000 for microcomputers
Information Highway, Internet, and
WWW
 Internet (w/ a Capital I)



Seed of Internet: U.S. Advanced Research
Project Agency (ARPAnet) in 1969
General description: a large network
connecting numerous and disparate networks
in industry, education, government, and
research. Internet uses TCP/IP as the
standard for transmitting information.
Internet connection:

Dial-up – modem and telephone line
Cont’d




Cable: cable and cable modem
Direct: wired to LAN directly
TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol
Internet Usage



Email: electronic mail system. An email address
is typically formed by a user name and a domain
name. e.g. john@eecs.nicholls.edu
!!! Don’t confuse web with Internet with email;
Don’t confuse email address with web URL
telnet: remote access to other computers
Cont’d


FTP (File Transfer Protocol): upload/download files
across the Internet
WWW : hypermedia communication system
 WWW (World Wide Web)
 Originated in Europe (CERN, Switzerland), physics,
1989.
 Client-server architecture: model of interaction in
distributed data processing in which a program at one
site sends a request to a program at another site and
awaits response. The requesting program is called a
client, the answering program is called a server.
server
client
request
prog
prog
/machine
/machine
reply
Cont’d

Basic terminology




HTML – Hypertext Markup Language (used to
compose web sites)
Hypertext – documents using hyperlinks
Hyperlink – linkage connecting to other
documents (or sites)
Web browser
 Software to view HTML files
 E.g., Netscape, Internet Explorer

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
 code to identify resources on Internet
 E.g., http://www.nicholls.edu





HTTP – Hypertext Transfer Protocol
Web site – HTML documents (grouped together)
Java – a programming language useful for web
programming
Google – most well-known search engine
Cyberphobia – fear of computers
MS Windows Essentials
Getting Started with Windows
 Starting Windows
 Automatically
started by default
 Icons
 Start button
 Shortcut
 Desktop
 Mouse pointer
 taskbar
Cont’d
 Elements of a window
 Window border
 Menu bar
 Control menu box
 Title bar
 Min button
 Max button
 Close button
 Window corner
 Mouse pointer
Cont’d
 Use of Mouse


Primary mouse button – left by default
Make selections
 Menu Bar


To open a menu, click on it
List of commands (in a menu) pulls down
 Dialog Box


Indicated by …
Input info needed
Cont’d
 Help System


Menu ---> Help
F1 key
 Exit Windows

Start ---> log off/turn off computer/shut down
How to “dump screen” to a Word
document
- Make sure the screen is visible
- Press “print screen” key on keyboard
- Open a (blank) Word document
- Paste (ctrl+v)
- Done
Running Applications
 Starting Application (Programs)


Double click on the corresponding icon
Start ---> All Programs ---> choose the
program
 Switching Between Applications




Click anywhere inside the window
Click the button on the taskbar
Alt+Esc
Alt+Tab
Cont’d
 Arranging Size of Windows


Manual: drag windows’ corner or border
(dragging windows’ title bar moves the
windows, but does not resize it.)
Automatic: right-click taskbar ---> cascade/tile
vertically /tile horizontally
 Max, Min, Restore, Close a Window


Click the 3 buttons (respectively)
Max and restore share the same button
Working with My Computer
 Open My Computer
 Click the icon on desktop
 Start ---> my computer
Working with My Computer
 Displaying File Info
 Open a window ---> View ---> list/detail/icons
Working with My Computer
 Selecting Files or Folders
 Select a single file – click on it
 Select adjacent files – click the1st file, then
shift+click the last file
 Select non-adjacent files – ctrl+click each file
Cont’d
 Creating New Folders


Open a window ---> File ---> New ---> Folder
Open a window ---> right-click ---> New --->
Folder
Managing Files
 Copying Files
 Determine source and destination folders
 Drag-and-drop (different drives)
 Copy-and-paste
Edit ---> copy, Edit ---> paste
 ^c and ^v
 Moving Files
 Determine source and destination folders
 Shift + drag-and-drop (different drives)
 Cut-and-paste
 Edit ---> cut, Edit ---> paste
 ^x and ^v

Cont’d
 Renaming Files
 File ---> rename
 Right-click ---> rename
 Deleting Files
 File ---> delete
 Right-click ---> delete
 Delete key
 Recovering deleted Files
 Recover from recycle bin
 Open recycle bin ---> select a file ---> File ---> restore
Cont’d
 Formatting Hard Disk/USB drive


Open my computer ---> select corresponding
drive ---> File ---> format
Open my computer ---> right-click the
corresponding drive  Format
Sharing Information
 Copying and Pasting Text (in documents)

Within the same document


E.g. From lab1.txt to lab2.txt
From one document to another of different
type


From lab1.txt to lab1.txt
From one document to another of the same
type


E.g.
E.g. From lab1.txt to lab1.doc
Select texts ---> Edit ---> copy ---> Edit --->
Paste
Cont’d
 Clipboard



An area in memory to store what is copied/cut
To view contents of clipboard: (old Office: Edit
---> Office Clipboard); Home tab  click the
arrow next to Clipboard
To delete contents in clipboard: (old Office:
Edit ---> Office clipboard, click down-arrow --->
delete); select each content item  click the
down arrow  delete
 Linking Info between Programs (may not be well-
supported by Office 2007)



Insert a picture A into a document B by linking, then
any changes made to the picture A will be reflected in
the document B.
E.g.: Open Paint  create a picture A; close Paint
Open WordPad ---> Insert ---> object ---> choose
the picture A ---> check link box. Start Paint by
double click the picture in the WordPad file.
Q: difference between linking and copy-and-paste?
Customizing Windows
 Screen Saver
 Right-click desktop --->
properties ---> screen
saver tab ---> select
from list
 Wall paper
 Right-click desktop --->
properties --->
desktop/background
tab ---> select from list
 Reset date and time
Start ---> (settings -->) control panel --->
date and time
 Changing Mouse
Settings
 Start ---> (settings -->) control panel --->
mouse

MS Word Essentials
Chapter 1 Creating
Documents with MS Word
Starting a new document and
inserting text

Staring Word: Start  MS Word 2010

Typical Word screen
Formatting marks

Insert text from a file

Choose a file, click Insert
 Formatting text using Text Effects
 Shadowing using Text Effects
 Example of shadowing
 Font and font size
 Text alignment (left, center,right, justify)

Text color
 Inserting and resizing pictures

Inserting a picture from a file

Choose a file, click Insert

Resizing a picture (drag sizing handles)

Or (check the size group)
 Wrapping text around a picture
 Moving a picture

Drag the picture
 Applying picture styles and artistic effects

Picture style

Artistic effects
 Adding a page border
 Inserting a shape

Adding text to a shape (right-click)
 Inserting a text box
 Moving, resizing, and formatting shapes and
text boxes

Moving – drag the shape/text box

Resizing: drag sizing handles

Or, type a number

Formatting: (same as formatting a picture)
Preview and Print
a Document
Change Document and Paragraph
Layout
 Setting margins
 Alignment —placement of paragraph text
relative to the margins




Left alignment—align left margin, uneven
right margin
Center alignment—centered between
margins
Right alignment—align right margin, uneven
left margin
Justified alignment—align evenly at left and
right margins
Click buttons
• Line spacing—distance between
lines of text in a paragraph
–
–
–
Single spacing (business documents)
Multiple 1.15 spacing (default line spacing)
Double spacing (academic papers)
 Indentation, click paragraph launcher
Create and Modify Lists
 Bulleted list


Items of list can be introduced in any order
Uses bullets—text symbols such as small
circles or check marks—to introduce each
item in a list
 Numbered list


Items with consecutive numbers
Use where order is important
 To modify, right-click
Set and Modify Tab Stops
 Turn on formatting maker to see tab marks
 To set/change tab stops
Insert a SmartArt Graphic
Chapter 2 Using Tables
and Templates
Objectives
 Create a Table
 Add Text to a Table
 Format a Table
 Create a New Document from an Existing
Document
 Change and Reorganize Text
 Use the Proofing Options
 Create a Document Using a Template
Create a Table
 Table—arrangement of information
organized into rows and columns


Cell―intersection of a row and a column into
which you can type
Useful to present information in a logical and
orderly manner
 Steps to create a table in Word
 Click the Insert tab on the Ribbon
 Click the Table button
 Select the number of rows and columns
 Table tools (design, layout)
Add Text to a Table
 Each cell behaves similarly to a document.
 For example, when you reach the right border
of the cell, wordwrap moves the text to the
next line
 Text can be added to a table either by
typing or by insertion from another
document.
 Table with text typed and/or inserted
Adjust column width
• All of the columns are of equal width
when the table is created.
• The width of table columns can be
changed.
• To change column width
•
•
Drag the border between two
columns
Or, Table tools  Layout  cell size
group (see next slide)
Add rows or columns
 Right-click a table cell
Merge cells
• Table titles typically span across all
of the columns.
• Cells can be merged to include
information across the columns.
•
 Select cells and click the Merge Cells button
Formatting Text in Cells
 Do as usual (bold, font size, color, bullet,…)
Changing the Table Borders
 Check this area
Creating a Document from an
Existing Document
 File  New
Recording AutoCorrect Entries
 File  options
Finding and Replacing Text
 Home  Editing group
 Type text
Selecting and Moving Text to a
New Location
 Just do cut-and-paste (^X and ^V)

Past options may be interesting
Checking Spelling and Grammar
Errors
 Review  Proofing group
Using the Thesaurus
 Review  Proofing group
Locating and Opening a
Template
 File  New  Sample templates
Removing Template Content
Controls
 Right-click Content controls
Saving a File as a Web Page
 File  Save as  Save as type  single web
page
Chapter 3 Creating Research
Papers, newsletters, and
merged mailing labels
Inserting Page Numbers
 Page numbers are automatically inserted in
header or footer
Inserting Footnotes
 Reference  Footnotes group
Modifying a Footnote Style
 right-click footnote  Style…
 Click Modify
Citations
 References  Citations & Bibliography
Insert citation
into document
Reference style
Crate a list of references
Changing citation styles
 Click Style

Adding citations
 Click Insert Citation
Creating a Reference Page
 Click Bibliography to create a list of reference
Inserting Page Breaks
 Press Ctrl + enter
Managing Document Properties
 File  info  properties
Document properties
Changing One Column of Text
to Two Columns
 Page Layout tab Columns

Formatting Multiple Columns
 Page Layout tab
Inserting a Column Break
 Page Layout tab
Inserting a Clip Art Image
 Insert tab
Inserting a Screenshot
 Insert tab  Screenshot button
 Insert a whole screen shot
 Insert a part of a screen shot
Applying the Small Caps Font
Effect
 Home tab  Font group launcher
Adding a Border and Shading to
a Paragraph
 Home tab  border/shading button
Mail Merge
Main document
(formatting)
Data source
(raw name &
add)
Merge
Formatted names and
address (labels)
Opening the Mail Merge Wizard
Template
 Mailings tab  Start Mail Merge
MS Excel Essentials
Starting Excel
 Starting Excel
Cell addresses
 Each cell is identified by a column letter with
a row number. E.g. A1, B5, d3:f3
Entering Text and Using
AutoComplete
autoComplete
Using Auto Fill
Fill handle
Aligning Text and Adjusting the
Size of Columns
 Aligning text
 Adjusting column width

Drag the column edge
Constructing a Formula and
Using the SUM Function
 Each formula MUST start with a = sign
 Examples:






=b1+b2
=sum(b1,b2)
=b3 – b4
=(a1+b2+c3)/3
=a1+a2+a3+a4+a5+a6
=sum(a1:a6)
Copying a Formula by Using the
Fill Handle
This is a formula,
not a constant
Fill handle
Using Merge & Center and
Applying Cell Styles
Formatting Financial Numbers
Charting Data in a Column
Chart
 Select data
 Click column button
Creating and Formatting
Sparklines
 Select data
 Click relevant buttons
Creating a Footer
Deleting Unused Sheets in a
Workbook
 Right-click tab, click delete
Displaying Formulas
Checking Spelling in a
Worksheet
 Review tab
Entering Data by Range
 Select a range of cells, and then enter data
 “Time-saving” technique
Active cell will be
top cell on the
next column
Using Arithmetic Operators
 Just type it. E.g. =b2*b4
Operator
Meaning
+
Addition
-
Subtraction
*
Multiplication
/
Division
^
exponent
Relative and Absolute Cell
References
 To create an absolute cell reference, put a $
in front of the column letter and/or row
number.
 E.g.:
 $A$1 (absolute)
 $B$1:$B$15 (absolute)
 A1:B2
(relative)
 A$1, $B12 (mixed)
Relative part
Abs. part
Difference between absolute cells
references and relative cell references
 Absolute cell references preserve the cell
addresses when being copied
 Relative cell references adjust the cell
addresses when being copied
 When mixed formulas is copied, absolute part
will be preserved and relative part will be
adjusted.
Formatting Cells with the
Percent Style
Inserting and Deleting Rows and
Columns
Adjusting Column Widths and
Wrapping Text
 Adjust column width

Drag the edge of a column
 Wrap text in a cell