To be a good program, the program should have following

characteristics:

1. Integrity: This refers to the accuracy of the calculations. It

should be clear that all other program enhancements would be
meaningless if the calculations were not carried out correctly. 2.
Clarity: If a program is clearly written, it should be possible for
another programmer to flow the program logic without undue
effort. 3. Simplicity: Keeping things as simple as possible usually
enhance the clarity & accuracy of program, consistent with the
overall program objectives. 4. Efficiency: This is concerned with
the execution speed & memory utilization. The program execution
speed should be fast & the program should not use unnecessary
memory. 5. Modularity: Many programs can be broken down into a
series of understandable subtasks. It is a good programming
practice to implement each of these subtasks as a separate
program module 6. Generality: Usually we want a program to be
as general as possible. Considerable amount of generality can be
obtained with very little additional programming effort. 7.
Reliability: It is the ability of a program to perform its function
correctly, i.e., the program can be depended upon always to do
what it is supposed to do. 8. Maintainability: The program will be
easy to change or modify when the need arises. 9. Portability: The
program will be transferable to a different computer with
minimum of modification. A program written in high-level
language is more portable than an assembly language. 10.
Readability: The program will be easy to read and understand.
This helps the programmer to change or modify the program as
needed. 11. Robustness: Program must be fault-tolerant as much
as possible. Although program cannot be 100% perfect, it must be
built in such a way that, if some unavoidable circumstance
appears, then it must tackle with this without being crashed. 12.
Performance: The program causes the tasks to be done quickly
and efficiently. 13. Security: A program must be secure enough so
as to avoid tampering from unauthorized people. Loopholes
in the program must be avoided as much as possible.
Word Processing Software
Microsoft Word Microsoft word is very powerful, advance and
useful word-processing software which is developed by Microsoft
Corporation, USA. It has all kind of word processing facilities like
To create, edit, format, save and print document, to check
spellings and grammar, to search for synonyms and antonyms
(thesaurus), to work with newspaper columns, tables, to add
footnotes and endnotes, page number, special symbols,
bookmarks, comments, to insert the picture, objects (e.g. video
clips, audio clips, power point presentations, equations, AutoCAD
drawings etc.).
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD PROGRAM

The file of Ms-Word is called document and the extension is doc.

In spite of above-mentioned matters, there are many other
features available in WinWord, which help us to furnish a
document (e.g. report, letter, essay etc.) in such a way that we
can produce the professional outlook. Now a day, WinWord is
considered as the best word-processing software.
Features of Word Processing Software:
Formatting of documents Most of the word processing features
are used to format the document. The process of formatting a
document includes a. changing the appearance of text b.
changing the layout of text on the page c. inserting pictures,
symbols and other graphic elements
Therefore, formatting includes most of the tasks before printing a
final document. The main objective of formatting is to makes a
document attractive. Formatting is of three categories: character
format, paragraph format and document format.
Speller (Spell Checker) Speller is one of the most important
features of a Word Processor. Every Word Processor contains a
small dictionary inside it. This dictionary can be used to check
spelling errors. Using this facility is very easy. A user can click a
Spelling and Grammar button and check spelling within the
document. The speller catches spelling mistakes. It also provides
options for replacing with correct word and ignoring word.
Grammar Checker It is another important feature of a Word
Processor. It works like speller but it inspects a document for
grammatical problems. A grammar checker compares each
sentence to a set of standard grammatical rules and informs you.
If it finds a problem, it provides grammatically correct options.
Thesaurus Thesaurus is a source of alternative words in any Word
Processor. It provides antonyms and synonyms of words. A user
can select a word and use thesaurus tool to display words with
the same meaning (synonym) and opposite meaning (antonym).
Table This feature allows user to create tables in just a few steps.
Some of the features of a table are: a. User can mention number
of rows and columns in a table. b. New rows or columns can be
inserted. c. Existing rows or columns can be deleted. d. Rows or
columns can be merged or split. e. In-build model are available to
change outlook of a table.

Mail Merge A mail merge is the process of combining a form letter

with the contents of a database. The database usually contains
name and address list of people. So, mail merge prepares an
individual letter for all the persons in the database. The mail
merge feature makes it easy to send the same letter to a list of
different people with the correct name and address printed on
each letter.
Graphics and Sound With a Word Processor, use can easily add
graphic images such as photos, drawings, or clipart to a
document. After graphic has been imported, user can move, size,
crop, and add borders to it. Word Processor provides a collection
of graphic image files. User can select any one of them and put
on a document. User can embed sound file in a document in the
same way that he or she embeds a graphic file. When user
embeds a sound file, it appears as an icon on the document.
Clicking the icon plays the sound file.
Template Templates are pre-designed documents that blank. The
fonts, paragraph formats, heading, rules, graphics, headers, or
footers and margins are preset in a template. A Word Processor
contains varieties of templates. User can open a document
template, type text into it and save it.
Spreadsheet Software
Microsoft Excel Microsoft Company developed this program, so it
is known as Microsoft Excel. It is a spreadsheet program where we
can insert data, process them, sort them, filter them and create
chart from the data etc., in this program we can perform various
kinds of Mathematical, financial, statistical, engineering
calculations. Using this program we can create bill, voucher,
salary sheet, income& expenses statement, mark sheet, purchase
book, sales book, balance sheet etc.
The file of Ms-Excel is called workbook and its extension is xls.
Worksheet: - The large working area of a workbook is called
worksheet. There are 65,536 rows and 256 columns in a
worksheet.
Cell: - The intersection between row and column is called Cell.
Each cell contains 32000 Characters.
Features of Spreadsheet Software: Worksheet provides a very
large space to enter and edit data. A typical worksheet can
accommodate ten or more pages of data. Collection of worksheet
is called workbook. A worksheet contains thousands of individual
cells. Every cell is capable of storing data and making calculation.
Each cell is referred by a unique address called cell address.

Formulas and Functions The power of Spreadsheet lies in formula.

A formula calculates numbers based on values or formulas in
other cell. User can create many kinds of formulas manually to do
basic arithmetic operations, calculus, or trigonometric operations,
and so on. Spreadsheet also comes with many built-in functions.
The functions perform specialized calculations automatically, such
as monthly payment of a loan, depreciation of an asset, etc.
Formatting numbers Spreadsheet programs offer numerous
formats specifically for numbers. Numbers can appear as rupees,
or dollars and cents, percentages, dates, times and fractions.
They can be shown with or without commas and decimal points.
Charts A popular feature of Spreadsheet software is its ability to
generate charts based on numeric data. Chart makes data easier
to understand and analyze. Creating a chart is very simple in
Spreadsheet software. Every Spreadsheet software offer varieties
of charts, such as column chart, line chart, pie chart, etc.
Analysis tools Modern spreadsheet software provides various tools
to analyze data. User can create a report summarizing the
different cases. One can also use these tools to find the value that
meets specified conditions.
Database management A worksheet can offer large volume of
records. These records form a database. A Spreadsheet program
provides various tools, which can be used to sort, update, search,
and manage database.
Presentation Software:
Microsoft Power Point Power Point is presentation software where
we can make a slide, design, format, animation, sound, set effect
in particular slide, etc. This is mostly used in display project
overview, display program by Ms- PowerPoint. It is developed by
Microsoft Corporation USA.
The file of Ms-PowerPoint is called slide and its extension is ppt.
Slide show (presentation) This option is use to present the slides
in full screen mode with different slide transition and animation
effect. After crating and formatting the slides.

Features of Presentation Software

Varieties of output User can get the presentation from different
output media. He or she can: a. show presentation on the
computers monitor b. print the slides on transparent sheets, and
show them through Over-head projector c. use Video projector to
show full-fledge multimedia presentation
Outlining Outlining tool enables user to organize slides contents.
It actually arranges the contents and views them in order.
Animation User can use animation tools to apply special effects
on text or images. Animation makes text pop up or crawl onto the
screen. Use can also create animated transitions, a special effect
that causes slides to bend together when user switch from one
slide to another.
Annotations This tool allows user to prepare a set of notes (called
annotations) to accompany the slides. These notes are visible
only to user, or user can print them with or without actual slide.
Sound and video Slide presentations can be full-fledged
multimedia events. User can embed sound or video object into a
slide. Then play the object by double-clicking its icon during a
presentation.
Other embedded objects User can embed different types of
objects, such as links to Web pages or other applications, in a
presentation. When a user clicks such link in a slide, the Web
page opens or other application runs.
Web Page conversion Like Word Processors and other software,
Presentation Program let user save document in HTML format.
With this, a presentation file can be used as a web page, or it can
be available on-line.
 Database Software
Microsoft Access Microsoft Access is a powerful multi-user RDBMS
(Relational Database Management system) developed by
Microsoft Corporation and can be used to store and manipulate
large amounts of information and perform repetitive tasks. Access
stores an entire database application within a single file with a
.mdb extension, which can contain data objects, like tables,
indexes and queries, as well as application objects like forms,
reports, macros, and visual basic code.

Although the term database typically refers to a collection of

related data tables, an Access database includes more than just
data. In addition to tables, an Access database file contains
several different types of database objects: Saved queries for
organizing data, Forms for interacting with the data on screen,
Reports for printing results,
Features of Database Software
Microsoft Access 2000 offers a variety of features for different
database needs and can be used to different types of applications
such as: Personal Applications Small Business Applications
Departmental Applications Corporation-wide Applications As
a front end for enterprise wide client/server Applications
Intranet / Internet Applications
Database A database is a collection of data organized in a
manner, which allows retrieval and use of that data, by anyone
needing it. A database is organized and designed to allow a large
number of users to draw information from it for many different
purposes in many different formats.

DBMS (Database Management System) A database-management

system (DBMS) consists of a collection of interrelated data and a
set of programs to access those data. The collection of data,
usually referred to as the database, contains information about
one particular enterprise.
The Primary goal of a DBMS is to provide an environment that is
both convenient and efficient to use in retrieving and storing
database information.
Database systems are designed to manage large bodies of
information. The management of data involves both the definition
of structures for the storage of information and the provision of
mechanisms for the manipulation of information. In addition, the
database system must provide for the safety of the information
stored, despite system crashes or attempts at unauthorized
access. If data are to be shared among several users, the system
must avoid possible anomalous results. The importance of
information in most organizations - which determines the value of
the database - has led to the development of a large body of
concepts and techniques for the efficient management of data.
Some popular DBMS are FoxPro, Clipper, SYBASE, MS-ACCESS,
ORACLE, MS SQL Server, MY SQL, etc.
Computer Graphics Computer graphics is a field related to the
generation of graphics using computers. It includes the creation,
storage, and manipulation of images of objects. These objects
come from diverse fields such as physical, mathematical,
engineering, architectural, abstract structures and natural
phenomenon. Computer graphics today is largely interactive; that
is, the user controls the contents, structure, and appearance of
images of the objects by using input devices, such as a keyboard,
mouse, or touch- sensitive panel on the screen.
INPUT - OUTPUT DEVICES Input-output (I/O) devices are the
primary means by which one can interact with computer. The
computer devices are also called peripheral devices. Peripheral
devices of computer can be divided into internal (installed inside
the computer) & external (existing outside the computer but
connected electronically to it). All the peripherals of the computer
are connected to the ports. An input device converts incoming
data & instructions into a pattern of electronic signals in binary
code i.e. combination of 0s & 1s to a digital computer,
whereas an output device reverses the processing, translating
the digital signals into a form understandable to the user.

INPUT DEVICES The raw data & program are entered in the
computer through input device. It reads the raw data prepared by
the user & sends then into the computer as a series of electronic
pulses. The devices which, read the data and program into the
computer, are called input devices, i.e., data and programs are
entered into the computer system for processing through input
device. An input device converts input data into suitable form
acceptable to a computer. So, it is a means of communication
between user and the computer. Examples of input devices are
keyboard, mouse, joysticks, optical character reader, light pen,
touch panel etc.
Keyboard A keyboard is the primary & most user-friendly input
device. Both data & instructions can be entered into the computer
with the help of the keyboard. It is an essential device for
interactive processing in the sense that the user can issue
commands through the keyboard to the CPU & receive the
response immediately on monitor. Computer keyboards are
similar to typewriter keyboards but contain additional keys. There
are separate keys for each number, letters & symbols. The data
can be sent to the CPU either serially or in parallel. The keyboards
therefore can be divided into two types: serial keyboard & parallel
keyboard.
Serial Keyboard It sends the data bit by bit in a serial way. Thus,
there is an only one line that carries data from keyboard to the
CPU. A serial to parallel converter is required at the computer end
to convert serial data into parallel.
Parallel Keyboard It sends all the bits of the data simultaneously
on separate lines. Thus, there are as many data lines as there are
bits in the data. At microcomputer level, IBM personal computer
has three different PC keyboards-
1. XT (Extended Technology): It has 83 keys. 2. AT (Advanced
Technology): It has 101 keys. 3. Enhanced Keyboard: It has 103
keys.
Alphanumeric Keys
Letters and numbers along with Tab, Caps Lock, Backspace and
Enter Modifier Keys Shift, Ctrl, Alt Function keys F1, F2, F3, F4, F5,
F6, F7, F8, F9, F10, F11, F12 Numeric Keypad Ten digits (0-9) and
mathematical operators (*, -, /, +, %, }, {, <, >, ?, etc.) Cursor-
Movement Keys Arrow keys, Home/End and Page Up/Page Down

h
o
How the Computer Accepts Input From the Keyboard? The
Keyboard controller places a code into part of its memory, called
the keyboard buffer, indicating which key was pressed. A buffer is
a temporary storage area that holds data until it can be
processed. This code is called the keys scan code. The keyboard
controller then signals the computers system software that
something has happened at the keyboard. It does not specify
what has occurred just that something has. The signal the
keyboard sends to the computer is a special kind of message
called an interrupt request. An interrupt is a signal; it notifies a
program that an event has occurred. The keyboard controller
sends an interrupt request to the system software when it
receives a complete keystroke. For example, if you type the letter
r, the controller immediately issues an interrupts request. If you
hold down the shift key before typing the letter R, the controller
waits until the whole key combination has been entered.
When the system software receives an interrupt request, it
evaluates the request to determine the appropriate response.
When a key-press has occurred, the system reads the memory
location in the keyboard buffer that contains the scan code of the
key that was pressed. It then passes the keys scan code to the
CPU. The keyboard buffer can store many keystrokes at one time.
This capability is necessary because some time elapsed between
the pressings of a key and computers reading of that key from
the keyboard buffer. With the keystrokes stored in the buffer the
program can react to them when it is convenient.
In many newer systems, the keyboard controller handles input
from the computers mouse and stores setting for both the
keyboard and the mouse.
Special-Purpose Keys
Insert, Delete, Esc, Print Screen, Scroll L ck, Pause, Start and
Shortcut

Fig: How a Keyboard Works?

Mouse
Mouse was invented by Douglas Engelbert of Standford Research
Center in 1963 & pioneered by Xerox in the 1970's. It is hand held
device with a roller on its base is moved over the surface. As the
ball is moved over the surface in any direction, the motion is
converted to digital values & is used to determine the direction &
magnitude of the mouse's cursor on the screen.
Mouse is one of the most widely used input devices of the
computer. A mouse is a small had held device whose relative
motion across the surface can be measured. Because mice are
the relative devices, they can be picked up; move and then put
down again without any changes in reported position. For this the
computer maintains the current mouse position, which is
incremented or decremented by the mouse movement.

Mouse is a small plastic box with two or three buttons on the top
and a ball at the bottom, which rolls on a flat surface. As the
ball moves across flat surface (mouse pad), the visible indicator
(i.e. pointer/cursor) on the screen, moves in the direction of
mouse movement. We can select the commands, draw pictures,
and edit text etc. by pressing the mouse button. The mouse is
important for graphical user interface because we can simply
point to options or objects & click a mouse button. Such
applications are often called point & click programs.
There are basically three types of mice-
Mechanical Mouse Mechanical mouse has a rubber or metal ball
on its underside that can roll in all directions. Mechanical sensors
within the mouse detect the direction of rolling ball & move on the
screen accordingly.
Opto-mechanical Mouse: Opto-mechanical mice are same as a
mechanical mouse but uses optical sensors to detect motion of
the ball. A ball rolls on two shafts. The shaft turns optical shaft-
angle encoders to convert motions to electrical signals. This type
of mouse is easier to clean as compared to clean a mechanical
mouse.
Optical Mouse The optical mouse is used on a special pad having
grids of altering light and dark lines. A LED on the bottom of the
mouse directs a beam of light down onto the pad, from which it is
reflected and sensed by the detectors on the bottom of the
mouse. As the mouse is moved, the reflected light beam is broken
each time a dark line is crossed. The number of pulses so
generated, which is equal to the number of lines crossed, is used
to report mouse movements to the computer.
Mouse can be connected to PC in one of the three ways. 1. Serial
mouse connect directly to the serial port (9-pin). 2. PS/2 mouse
connect directly to the PS/2 port (6-pin). 3. Cordless mouse does
not connect physically but can be connected with infrared or radio
waves. Using the mouse involves five techniques: 1. Pointing:
Move the mouse to move the on-screen pointer. 2. Clicking: Press
and release the left mouse button once. 3. Double-clicking: Press
and release the left mouse button twice. 4. Dragging: Hold down
the left mouse button as you move the pointer. 5. Right-clicking:
Press and release the right mouse button.

Trackball
A trackball is a pointing device that works like an upside-down
mouse. A track ball is really a variation on the mouse. You rest
your thumb on the exposed ball and your fingers on the buttons.
The track ball is held stationary while the ball is manually rotated
by hand in any direction. The track balls are intended for use
where the desktop space is limited or not available. To move the
pointer around the screen, you roll the ball with your thumb. The
advantage over mice is that it is stationary so it does not require
much space to use and it can be place on any type of the surface
Joystick
A joystick is a device consisting of a hand held stick that pivots
about one end and can be moved left or right, forward or
backward. It lets the user move an object on the screen. A
potentiometer senses the movements of the stick. A
potentiometer is an instrument for measuring or comparing the
movement of mouse from original position. As the stick is moved
around, the movements are translated into binary instructions
with the help of electrical contacts in its base. Children can play
with a set in two crossed grooves & can be moved left or right,
forward or backward. A joystick is generally used to control the
velocity of the screen cursor movement rather than its absolute
position.
Light Pen Light pen is an input device that contains a photocell
mounted in pen-shaped tube. When the pen is moved over the
surface of the screen, it detects the light emitted from the screen
and generates electric pulses. The pulses are transmitted to a
processor that identifies the pixel (picture element) the light pen
is pointing to. It enables a user to write words or draw pictures
directly into the computer. It is useful for graphic work like CAD
(Computer Aided Designing) package.
Because of the following drawbacks the light pens are not popular
now-a-days: It obscures the screen image as it is pointing to
the required spot. The light pen cannot report the coordinates
of a point that is completely black It gives sometimes-false
reading due to background lighting. Prolong use of it can cause
arm fatigue.
Digitizer Digitizer also known as tablet is a flat surface ranging in
size from about 6" X 6" up to 48" X 72" or more, which can detect
the position of a movable stylus (pencil-shaped device) or puck
(mouse- type device). The stylus has a pressure sensitive switch
on its tip, which closes when the stylus is pressed. The puck has
thin cross-hair cursor for accuracy in digitizing drawing that is
placed on the tablet and push button for command entry. A tablet
digitizes an object detecting the position of the stylus or puck.
They are used to scan over the object and input the set of the
discrete coordinate position. These positions can then be joined
with the straight lines segment to approximate the shape of an
original object.
There are mainly three types of the tablets- Electrical Tablet
Sonic Tablet Resistive Tablet

Electrical Tablet
Most tablets use an electrical sensing mechanism to determine
the position of the stylus. In one of such arrangement, a grid of
wire on to inch center is embedded in the tablet surface.
Electromagnetic signals generating by the electric pulses applied
in sequence to the wired in the grids induce an electrical signal in
a wire coil in the stylus. The signal strength is also used to
determine roughly how a\far the stylus from the tablet. A signal is
sent to the computer when the tip is pressed against the tablet, or
when the button on the puck is pressed. The information provided
by the tablet repeats 30-to- 60 times per second.
Sonic Tablet
The sonic tablet uses sound waves. An electrical spark at the tip
of the stylus creates sound burst, then the position of the stylus is
calculated using the delay between when the spark occurs and
when it arrives at each microphone. The main advantage of sonic
of sonic tablet is that it does not require dedicate working area.
This facilitates digitizing drawing upon the thick books.
Resistive Tablet
This tablet is just a piece of a glass coated with a thin layer of
conducting material. When a battery- powered stylus is activated
at a certain position, it emits high-frequency radio signals, which
induces the radio signals on the conducting layer. The strength of
the signal received at eh edged of the tablet is used to calculate
the position of the stylus.
Scanner
Scanner is an input device that can read text or illustration
printed on paper and translates the information into a form that
the computer can use. The resulting image (text or illustration)
can be stored in a file as Bitmap or JPEG (Joint Photographic
Experts Group), displayed on a screen, and manipulated by
programs.
A light source is moved across a printed page. The light bounces
off the page and is passed through the lens and onto light-
sensitive diodes, which convert the light to electricity. A circuit
board converts the electricity to numbers and sends the
information to the computer.
There are two types of scanners- Hand-held Scanner Flatbed
Scanner
Hand-held Scanner A hand held scanner is around 13cm long and
15 cm wide with a handle to enable it to be held conveniently in
hand. A set of light emitting diodes is enclosed in it. It is placed
over the material to be scammed and slowly dragged from the
top to the bottom.
Flatbed Scanner A flatbed scanner consists of a box with a glass
plate on top and cover, which covers the glass plate. The

document to be scanned is placed above the glass plate. The light

beam is situated below the glass plate and is moved from left to
right horizontally.
Bar Code Reader
Bar Code Reader is a photoelectric scanner that read bar code, an
identification code printed on product containers that gives its
value (price) and other information (quality, manufacturer etc.).
Bar code is a printed series of parallel bars or lines of varying
width that is used for entering data into a computer system. They
are mostly used by supermarkets, bookshops etc.
The bars are typically black on a white background & their width
& quantity vary according to applications. The bars are used to
represent 0 & 1, sequence of which in turn can represent numbers
from 0 to 9 & be processed by a digital computer. An optical
scanner reads bar code information, which is a part of a computer
system.
Magnetic Ink Character Reader
This method of input is very common in computerized banks.
MICR reads cheques & deposit slips magnetically of the banking
industry. The account number of the customer is pre-printed on
the cheque using "magnetic ink". Magnetic ink is a special type of
ink containing iron-oxide particles, which is used to write
characters. MICR reads the cheque first magnetizing the magnetic
characters printed on the cheque & the sensing the signal
induced by each passing character under a reading head. The
data so captured is fed to the computer system.
Optical Character Recognition
Optical character recognition is a process of recognizing pre-
printed characters & distinguishes one character from other
provided characters to meet OCR standards. OCR can also read
characters produced by typewriters. There are many OCR front
standards such as OCR-A, OCR-B etc. It can be observed that OCR
reader can read alphabets, numbers & special characters that are
printed or typed on the paper. An optical reader uses
photoelectric device to scan the input. OCR is an input device,
which is used to read an image, characters of different fonts
printed on any paper. The printed characters are examined by
passing them under a light and lens system. A light source
converts the alphabets, number and special characters into
electrical pulses, which are then sent to the computer for
processing. If there is no dark spot it is represented by 0 and if
there is a dark spot it is represented by 1.Such representation is
called the bit map of the image. Nowadays, advanced OCR
system can also read handwritten text.
Optical Mark Recognition
It is an input device that can detect the presence or absence of a
pencil or pen mark on a paper. Light is shown onto the marked
paper and the reflected light is observed. The presence of a mark
is confirmed due to lesser light being reflected from that portion
of the paper.
OMRs are mostly used for Objective type answer papers in
examinations. Order forms containing a small choice of items.
 Market survey, population survey etc. Time sheets of factory
employees in which start and stop time may be marked.
Touch Screen
Touch screens allow the user to point directly, usually to select
from a menu of choices on the screen. Most touch screen
computers use sensors in or near the computers' screen that can
detect the touch of a finger. Touch screen accept input by allowing
the user to place a fingertips directly on the computer screen.
Touch screen are appropriate in environments where dirt or
weather would render keyboards & pointing devices useless &
where a simple interface is important. Many techniques have
been used to make the screen sensitive- Infrared screens
employ light-emitting diodes (LED) and photo detector cells
forming matrix of beams covering the screen in the horizontal and
vertical dimensions. LEDs emit infrared light, and photo detectors
receive it. When the user touches the screen, some light beams
are interrupted, and the computer then senses the position of the
finger. Capacitive screen uses a device, which can sense
changes in capacitance when and where the user touches the
screen with stylus or finger. In pressure sensitive mechanism,
two layers of Mylar containing rows of invisible wires are
separated by a small space. The sheets are placed in such a way
that the wires run horizontally in one sheet and vertically in the
other. When the user applies pressure on the screen, the wires at
that point make contact and a circuit is closed. This is sensed and
fed to the computer.
Disadvantages Although touch screens provide a natural interface
for computer novices, they are unsatisfactory for most
applications because the finger is such as relatively large object.
It is impossible to point accurately to small areas of the screen. In
additional, it is tiring job to the arm for using it a long period.
Speech Input Devices A unit, which takes as its input spoken
words, and converts them to a form, which can be understood
by a computer, is called a speech input unit. Now, that sound
capabilities are a standard part of computers, microphones are
becoming increasingly important as input devices. A sound card
can translate the electrical signals from the microphones into a
digitized form that the computer can store & process. Sound cards
can also translate digitized sounds back into Analog signals that
can be sent to the speaker. There is also demand for translating
spoken words into text, much as there is a demand for translating
handwriting into text. Translating voice to text is a capability
known as voice recognition. With it you can speak with computer
rather than to type & you can control the computer with simple
commands such as "shut down".
Voice recognition software takes the individual sound in a
language, called phoneme & translates into text or commands. By
understanding we mean that the unit can uniquely code each
spoken word and can interpret and initiate action based on the
word. Giving a spoken command is much quicker than typing out
such a command. Speech input unit is particularly useful in
situation where commands are to

be given to a remote computer using a telephone or when ones

hand are not free.
Speech input units may be classified as: Single word
recognition unit and Continuous speech recognition unit
By single word recognition we mean recognizing single word
command such as START, YES, NO, SHUTDOWN, etc. By
continuous speech we mean a sentence spoken continuously such
as HOW MANY WORDS ARE THER IN THIS DOCUMENT?
Recognizing single words is easier than recognizing spoken
sentence.
Digital Camera Digital camera is the input device that input
images into the computer. Digital camera uses digital
photographic technique i.e. it outputs the images by means of
digital phenomenon. Normally, film camera capture images on a
specially coated films whereas the digital camera captures
images electronically.
The digital camera implements the image sensor to convert the
light directly into series of pixel values that make up the image to
be taken. The more pixels your camera has, the more detail it can
capture. Over the last few years, digital cameras have become
more and more sophisticated enabling many advanced features
including noise filtering, instant red-eye removal, high-quality
prints extracted from video, image and video stabilization, in-
camera editing of pictures and wireless transmission of photos.
Advantages of Digital Photography Instant review of pictures
with no waiting for films to be developed. Payment will be done
for printing successful and good quality photos. There is no
need to scan the pictures before printing. Picture quality does
not deteriorate.
OUTPUT DEVICES CPU processes the information that is entered
through the input devices and produces the meaningful
information. These information can appear in variety of form as
a binary number, as picture, as text, as sound or as printed
pages. An output device is any device that is capable of
representing that information from the computer. Output device
includes monitors, speaker, printers, plotters, etc.
Classification of Outputs based on type of output produced
Softcopy Output
Softcopy output refers to the output displayed on the screen. The
output on the screen is lost when computer is turn off. The most
common output device is monitor. Sound produced by voice
output device (speaker) is also softcopy output.

Hardcopy Output
Hardcopy output refers to recording letters, graphics or pictures
on a permanent medium such as paper. Such output can be read
immediately or stored and read latter. The most commonly used
hardcopy output devices are printer and plotters.
Monitors Monitor, also called display screen, is a most commonly
used output device that produces soft copy output. Monitor is also
known as Visual Display Unit (VDU).
Classification of Monitors based on colors
Monochrome Monitor
Monochrome Monitor can display only two colors. One is
foreground and another is for background. The color can be black
and white, black and green, amber (brown yellow color) and
black.
Gray-scale Monitor
A Gray-Scale monitor is special type of monochrome monitors
capable of displaying different shade of Gray.
Color Monitor
Color monitor can display anywhere from 16 colors to 16 millions
colors. Colors monitors are some times called RGB monitors
because they accept three signals red, green, and blue.
Classification of monitors based on technology
CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Monitors Flat Panel Display Monitors

CRT Monitors
A monitor consists of the display device- the picture tube along
with the related circuitry that converts the signal send by the
computer in a form that can be used by the display. The picture
tube, called cathode ray tube or CRT, is a core of monitor.
It has many other elements such as a shadow mask and a
phosphors coating that enables it to display picture along with the
display electrons. The simplest way of explain the functioning of
the monitor screen is by what we call CRT electrons guns. The
electrons are filtered through a shadow mask and hit the
phosphors- coated screen to produce the image. This process is
monitored and controlled by various display electronics. The most
important component in the component in the monitors
electronic is the video amplifier increase the strength of single
volt signals that are received from your PC, to the thousands of
voltage that are required to drive the electron beam.
The Cathode- Ray Tube is a major component of any monitor. It
essentially is a glass tube partially evacuated and filled with inert
gas at a very low pressure. The cathode (a negatively charged
electrode) beams a ray of electrons towards a positively charged
the anode. At the end of their flight, the electron crash into a
coating made from phosphor compounds that convert the kinetic
energy of the electron into visible light- glowing to produce the
picture.
Color CRTs use thousands of triangle painted across the inner
surface of the tube. Every triad consists of three dots of the
primary colours red, green and blue (RGB) arrayed next to each
other. One triad of the dots makes up a picture cell called a pixel.
R
GB
To generate beam that light up the phosphor on the screen, a CRT
uses one or more electron guns. An electron gun is an electron
emitter (a cathode) that draw the electron into sharp and high
speed beams. These are three separate electron beam, one each
for red, blue and green colors.
These beams have to go through a shadow mask, which is a layer
between the phosphors triad and electron guns. The shadow
mask causes the three beams to land on the phosphors in a
distinct triangle so that each beam illuminates only the right
color dot. Each traid has a corresponding hole in a shadow mask,
which prevent the beam from illuminating the wrong color
phosphors.