INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

a) Concepts of ICT – Terminologies

i) Computer
This is an electro-magnetic device that can be programmed to accept data (input), process it
into useful information (output) and store for later reuse (retrieve).

ii) Computer system

A system is a group of two or more interrelated components or subsystems that serve a
common purpose. A computer system comprises of input, processing, storage and output
devices.

iii) Data
This refers to a collection of disorganized figures, facts, statistics, opinions or predictions that
are not useful for decision making.
-Also refers to the raw facts which have not been processed

iv) Information
This is processed data which is in a form that is meaningful for decision making

v) Information Communication Technology

Is an integration of computers, communication and other technologies applied to the
collection and storage of data that is subsequently processed and transmitted with the
intention of providing information to the recipient or decision makers?

vi) Computer- Based Information Communication System (CBIS)

This comprises of computer hardware, computer software, data/information, people/users,
procedures and communication devices (network)

b) Functions of ICT
i) Functions of ICT in an organization
- It increases operational efficiency
- Enhances employee productivity
- Improves customer service
- Increases customer satisfaction
- Promote effective decision making
- Enables development of competitive products
- Enables Strategic Planning for future expansion

ii) Advantages of computer systems

- High speed processing
A super computer can process one trillion arithmetic operations in one second.
- Handle large volume of repetitive tasks
It can prepare a payroll by calculating hours worked, rate per hour, total wages, various
deductions and net wages for thousands of employees without getting bored.
- Has logical ability
Able to distinguish between numbers and decide which one is greater, negative or
positive

- Remote processing

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 Through time sharing and telecommunication, many persons at different locations can
use the same computer at one location for information processing eg ATM banking or
air-time top up.
- Enhance productivity
Productivity increase once workers learn to use computers to perform their duties better
and faster
- Accelerate decision making
Managers can sort issues faster and make better decisions
- Reduce operation costs
Computers help to hold down the costs of labour, energy and paper work
- Reduce storage space
Information can be stored in computer components which occupy smaller space unlike
paper
iii) Disadvantages of computers
- High initial costs-requires high initial cost to purchase and install the computers
- Require skilled operators-Training needs to be done for the computer operators
- Cause health problems-use of computers causes health related problems such as neck
ache, eyes
- Reduce employment opportunities-one computer can perform several tasks that could
have been performed by several people hence causes unemployment
- Greater loss of data in case of breakage or system failure

c) Classification of computers
i) Classification by purpose
Analog Computers
These are computers that perform logical operations by measuring changes in physical
magnitudes and convert them to numeric values. These computers process data that is in a
continuous form or measurable quantities/units. Analog data includes physical variables like
temperature, pressure, length, weight, electrical voltages and resistance.
-Analog computers include thermometers, weighing scales, voltmeters and speedometers.
-These computers are used mainly for scientific and engineering purposes because they deal
with quantities that vary constantly.
-They give approximate results and are applied in industries, post office and weather stations
-Handles small volume of data.

Digital Computers
. These computers process data that is represented in the form of discrete or individually
distinct form usually in a binary or two state formats/digits 0 and 1. In the binary system,
each 0 and 1 is called a bit and a group of 8 bits is 1 byte.
Example of these devices include digital clock.
-handles high volume of data and gives accurate information

Hybrid Computers
These are computers that have the combined features of both the digital and analog
computers. Example is where patient’s vital signs like temperature, heart functions etc are
measured and converted to numbers and supplied to the digital components that monitor the
patient’s vital signs. A fluctuation can thus be noticed immediately.

ii) Classification by size

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 - Super computers
These are the most powerful, fastest and most expensive computers. Only a few of these
are manufactured each year because only a few organizations need and can afford their
processing capabilities. They have large memories and high processing speeds so fast that
they can process nearly a billion transactions per second and nearly a trillion arithmetic
operations at the same time. They apply parallel processing.
Application
 Worldwide weather forecasting and analysis of weather phenomena
 Produce images that can be incorporated into movies
 Aircraft design
 Mathematical research

- Main frames
These are large, general purpose computers which can serve 100 or more end users.
They are fast with large storage capacities.
Application
 Processing of high-volume batch applications eg in banks
 Management of very large centralized databases
 To control access, interpret queries and retrieve & update records
 Ideal for transaction processing, financial applications, payroll calculations and
airline reservations.
- Mini computers
 These are computers which are neither too big nor too small in size
 They are designed to accommodate more than one user
 The are a bit costly than micro computers
 Their processing speed is a bit faster than micro computers
 They have a large storage capacity than microcomputers and lesser than
mainframe computer

- Micro computers
 These are computers that are small in size
 They are designed for single user
 They have low processing speed
 They are less costly compared to others
 They have small processors
 They have small storage capacity

- Desktops
 These are a type of microcomputers also called Personal Computers (PCs).
 They are compact, powerful and versatile machines
 They generally serve a single user
 The desktop type may be one integral unit having monitor and CPU or may be
separate ( Tower units)

-Laptops
 These are powerful portable computers
 They are designed for single user
 They have low processing speed
Computer Generations
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 The history of computer development is often referred to in reference to the different generations of
computing devices. A generation refers to the state of improvement in the product development process.
This term is also used in the different advancements of new computer technology. With each new
generation, the circuitry has gotten smaller and more advanced than the previous generation before it. As a
result of the miniaturization, speed, power, and computer memory has proportionally increased. New
discoveries are constantly being developed that affect the way we live, work and play.
Each generation of computers is characterized by major technological development that fundamentally
changed the way computers operate, resulting in increasingly smaller, cheaper, and more powerful and more
efficient and reliable devices.

First Generation - 1940-1956: Vacuum Tubes

 The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often
enormous, taking up entire rooms.
 A magnetic drum, also referred to as drum, is a metal cylinder coated with magnetic iron-oxide material on
which data and programs can be stored.
 The tracks on a magnetic drum are assigned to channels located around the circumference of the drum,
forming adjacent circular bands that wind around the drum. A single drum can have up to 200 tracks. As the
drum rotates at a speed of up to 3,000 rpm, the device's read/write heads deposit magnetized spots on the
drum during the write operation and sense these spots during a read operation. This action is similar to that
of a magnetic tape or disk drive.
 They were very expensive to operate
 They used a great deal of electricity,
 Generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions.
 First generation computers relied on machine language to perform operations, and they could only solve one
problem at a time. Machine languages are the only languages understood by computers. While easily
understood by computers, machine languages are almost impossible for humans to use because they consist
entirely of numbers. Computer Programmers, therefore, use either high level programming languages or
an assembly language programming. An assembly language contains the same instructions as a machine
language, but the instructions and variables have names instead of being just numbers.
 Acronym for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, the world's first operational electronic digital
computer, developed by Army Ordnance to compute World War II ballistic firing tables. The ENIAC,
weighing 30 tons, using 200 kilowatts of electric power and consisting of 18,000 vacuum tubes, 1,500
relays, and hundreds of thousands of resistors, capacitors, and inductors, was completed in 1945.
 They had maintenance problems
 They had limited primary memory
Second Generation - 1956-1963: Transistors
 Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation computer. Transistor is a device
composed of semiconductor material that amplifies a signal or opens or closes a circuit. Invented in 1947 at
Bell Labs, transistors have become the key ingredient of all digital circuits, including computers. Today's
latest microprocessor contains tens of millions of microscopic transistors
 They were smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation
predecessors.
 Second-generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output.
 Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or assembly,
languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. High-level programming languages
were also being developed at this time, such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN.
 These were also the first computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which moved from a
magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.
 The first computers of this generation were developed for the atomic energy industry.

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 Third Generation - 1964-1971: Integrated Circuits
 The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers. Transistors
were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed
and efficiency of computers. Silicon is the basic material used to make computer chips, transistors, silicon
diodes and other electronic circuits and switching devices because its atomic structure makes the element an
ideal semiconductor. Silicon is commonly doped, or mixed, with other elements, such as boron,
phosphorous and arsenic, to alter its conductive properties.
 A chip is a small piece of semi conducting material (usually silicon) on which an integrated circuit is
embedded. A typical chip is less than ¼-square inches and can contain millions of electronic components
(transistors). Computers consist of many chips placed on electronic boards called printed circuit boards.
There are different types of chips. For example, CPU chips (also called microprocessors) contain an entire
processing unit, whereas memory chips contain blank memory.

Computer chips, both for CPU and memory, are composed of semiconductor materials. Semiconductors
make it possible to miniaturize electronic components, such as transistors. Not only does miniaturization
mean that the components take up less space, it also means that they are faster and require less energy.

 Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through keyboards
and monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the device to run many different
applications at one time with a central program that monitored the memory.
 Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper
than their predecessors.
 High reliability
 Smaller size
 Use parallel processing
 Introduction of simpler programming language eg BASIC

Fourth Generation - 1971-Present: Microprocessors

 The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated circuits we
rebuilt onto a single silicon chip. A silicon chip that contains a CPU. In the world of personal computers, the
terms microprocessor and CPU are used interchangeably. At the heart of all personal computers and most
workstations sits a microprocessor. Microprocessors also control the logic of almost all digital devices, from
clock radios to fuel-injection systems for automobiles.

Three basic characteristics differentiate microprocessors:

Instruction Set: The set of instructions that the microprocessor can execute.

Bandwidth: The number of bits processed in a single instruction.

Clock Speed: Given in megahertz (MHz), the clock speed determines how many instructions per second the
processor can execute.

 As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks,
which eventually led to the development of the Internet.
 Fourth generation computers also saw the development of GUI's, the mouse and handheld devices
 Introduction of a wide variety of software
 They became cheap enough for schools and homes to purchase them

Fifth Generation - Present and Beyond: Artificial Intelligence

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  Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there
are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today.
Artificial Intelligence is the branch of computer science concerned with making computers behave like
humans. The term was coined in 1956 by John McCarthy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Artificial intelligence includes:

 Games Playing: programming computers to play games such as chess and checkers
 Expert Systems: programming computers to make decisions in real-life situations (for example,
some expert systems help doctors diagnose diseases based on symptoms)
 Natural Language: programming computers to understand natural human languages
 Neural Networks: Systems that simulate intelligence by attempting to reproduce the types of
physical connections that occur in animal brains
 Robotics: programming computers to see and hear and react to other sensory stimuli

Currently, no computers exhibit full artificial intelligence (that is, are able to simulate human behavior). The
greatest advances have occurred in the field of games playing. In the area of robotics, computers are now
widely used in assembly plants, but they are capable only of very limited tasks. Robots have great difficulty
identifying objects based on appearance or feel, and they still move and handle objects clumsily.

Natural-language processing offers the greatest potential rewards because it would allow people to interact
with computers without needing any specialized knowledge. You could simply walk up to a computer and
talk to it. Unfortunately, programming computers to understand natural languages has proved to be more
difficult than originally thought. Some rudimentary translation systems that translate from one human
language to another are in existence, but they are not nearly as good as human translators.

There are also voice recognition systems that can convert spoken sounds into written words, but they do not
understand what they are writing; they simply take dictation. Even these systems are quite limited -- you
must speak slowly and distinctly.

In the early 1980s, expert systems were believed to represent the future of artificial intelligence and of
computers in general. To date, however, they have not lived up to expectations. Many expert systems help
human experts in such fields as medicine and engineering, but they are very expensive to produce and are
helpful only in special situations.

Today, the hottest area of artificial intelligence is neural networks, which are proving successful in a number
of disciplines such as voice recognition and natural-language processing.

Elements of a computer system

COMPUTER HARDWARE
a) Input devices
i) Keyboard - Keyboard layout

 A standard QWERTY keyboard has about 102 keys grouped into categories;
- Functional keys
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 -
Alphabetic keys
-
Special keys
-
Cursor movement keys
-
Numeric keypad
The following are some functions of important keys on the keyboard
1) The Function Keys (F1- F12)
These keys are used to perform specific tasks eg F1 to activate help menu in MS-Word
2) Alphabetic keys
These are keys with alphabetical letters used for typing letters and words.
3) Special keys
These are keys used either alone or in combination with others to perform a function. Eg
i) Control Keys (Ctrl)
Used as a shortcut to activate task when held down while taping another key eg
Ctrl + C = Copy
Ctrl + S = Save Ctrl + U = Underline
Ctrl + V = paste Ctrl + X = cut
Ctrl + A = Select all Ctrl + B = Bold
Ctrl + P = Print Ctrl + I = italic
Ctrl + Z = Undo Ctrl + N = New window
Ctrl + Y = Redo

ii) Alternate Keys (Alt)

They are used as a shortcut to activate a menu or task when held down when typing another key eg

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 Alt + I = Inset  Alt + W = Window
 Alt + F = File  Alt +H = Help
 Alt + E = Edit  Alt + Y = Yes
 Alt + V = View  Alt + N = No
 Alt +O = Format  Alt + F4 = Close window
 Alt + A = Table
 iii) Shift Keys (Shift)
Used as a shortcut to activate task when held down while typing another key e.g.
 To change case lower to upper or vice versa (Shift + A = a)
 To activate a character on upper part of a key eg (Shift + 2 = @, Shift + / =?)
iv) Num lock;
Used to change the numeric keypad to number entry mode or to directional arrow keys
v) Page up (pg up)
Used to move the insertion point (cursor) to the top of the page
vi) page down(pg dn)
Used to move the insertion point (cursor) to the bottom of the page
vii) home
Used to move the insertion point (cursor) to the beginning of a line
viii) end
Used to move the insertion point (cursor) to the end of a line
ix) insert keys
 it turns on the type over or insert mode
 when insert mode is on, existing text is pushed to the right as new text is being typed, and when typeover
mode is on, existing text is over-written as new text is being typed over it.
x) delete key (Del)
 it is used to erase a character, space, or any code that is to the right of the cursor
 it can also erase selected (highlighted) text, file or folder
xi) Back space
It is used to erase a character, space, or any code that is to the left of the cursor
xii) Caps Lock
 It is used to change the keyboard mode from upper case to lower case and vice versa.
 If this button has been pressed, a light will appear on the right hand side of the keyboard
xiii) Space bar
Adds blank spaces between words, letters, figures etc.
xiv) Enter key
Also referred to as Return key used to
 accept a selection/action
 insert a blank line between paragraphs, lines etc
 start a new line
 end a line

xv) Tab Key

It is used to indent text to the next tab setting
xvi) Escape Key
It is used to cancel dialog box or task being performed
4) Navigation Keys (Directional arrow keys)
They are used to move the cursor (insertion point) as per the direction that is on the key ie, up, down, left,
right

5) Numeric keypad
Enter numbers 0-9

ii) Mouse
It is an input device which lets user move the cursor around the screen. It has at least two buttons. The left
button select icons and commands. The right button brings up a menu.
A mechanical mouse has a rubber or metal ball on it’s under side. When the ball rolls in a certain
direction, electronic circuits in the mouse translated the movement of the mouse into signals that the
computer can process. A mouse pad is a rectangular rubber or a foam pad that provides a better traction
than the top of a desk.
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 An optical mouse, by contrast, has no moving mechanical parts inside. Instead, it uses devices that emit
and sense light to detect the mouse movement.
A mouse contacts the computer in several ways. Many are attached to a serial port, mouse port or USB
port and system.
– Terminologies
- Clicking
This is pressing the mouse button once to activate a button.

- Double clicking
This is pressing the mouse button twice in rapid succession to open a file or folder.

- Dragging and dropping

This is the process of selecting a file, word etc and moving to another location.

- Right clicking
This is pressing the right mouse
- Left clicking
This is pressing the left mouse

- Scrolling
This is the process of moving the open window content either upward or downward using vertical scroll
bar or to the left or right using horizontal scroll bar.

iii) Scanner
It an input device that can create a digital representation of a printed image.

iv) Bar code reader

-It uses light to read universal product codes (UPCs), inventory goods, and other goods created from
patterns of variable width bars. It is used in super- markets and some libraries.
-Uses the principle of light to scan the data

v) Magnetic card input

It reads odd-shaped numbers printed with magnetic ink on cheques and is used in the banks.

vi) TOUCH SCREEN

It responds when the user points to or touches different screen regions. Computers with touch screen are
frequently used in the airport, public libraries and shopping malls.

vii) Voice input devices

- Voice Recognition device
One of the latest input devices is the voice recognition device, which recognizes spoken words. However,
this only implies that the computer can take dictation, not that it understands what is being said. However,
they generally require an extended training session during which the computer system becomes
accustomed to a particular voice and accent. Such systems are said to be speaker dependent. Many
systems also require that the speaker speak slowly and distinctly and separate each word with a short
pause. These systems are called discrete speech systems.
Examples of where it is used include high security areas like in nuclear reactors where individual voice is
used as password to open doors to allow staff get to the plant.
- The other device is a microphone

b) Output devices
i) Monitor (Visual display unit)
The display screen are also called monitors which serve as a one way window between the computer user
and the machine. Most displays fold into one of the two classes: television –style cathode-ray tube (CRT)
monitors and flat-panel liquid crystal display (LCD) displays. Overhead projection panels and video
projectors also use LCDs to project computer screen images for meetings and classes.
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ii) Printer
A printer can produce a hard copy on paper of any static information that can be displayed on the
computer screen. Printer come in several varieties, but they all fit into two basic groups: impact printers
and nonimpact printers.

iii) Sound output devices

Most modern PCs include sound cards. A sound card enables the PC to accept microphone input, play
music and other sounds through the speakers or headphones and process sound in a variety of ways.

iv) Fax machine and fax modem

A fax machine is a fast and convenient tool for transmitting information stored on paper. In a sense, when
combined, fax machines and telephone lines serve as a long distance photocopy machine.
The fax modem translates the document into signals that can be sent over the phone wires and decoded by
the receiving fax machine.

c) Central Processing Unit

The computer’s control centre is made up of the processing and main memory devices, housed in the
computer’s system unit. The system unit houses the part of electronic circuitry that does the actual
processing and the main memory that supports processing, which together are called processing hardware.
This is made up of the central processing unit (CPU), the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and the control unit
(CU).

a) The central processing unit

It is the electronic circuitry that controls the interpretation and execution of instructions.

b) The arithmetic logic units

This unit performs the fundamental arithmetic operations and it’s composed of two sections.

i) Arithmetic unit – this performs the calculations such as addition, multiplication, division and
subtraction.

ii) The logic unit – this performs the comparisons such as true or false, greater than, equal to, less
than, etc.
c) Control unit
It processes the instructions and data stored in the computer and transfers them to the arithmetic logic unit.

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 CPU

MAIN MEMORY

INPUT CONTROL UNIT

OUTPUT

External bus ARITHMETIC LOGIC UNIT

CPU Operation
The fundamental operation of most CPUs, regardless of the physical form they take, is to execute
a sequence of stored instructions called a program. The program is represented by a series of numbers that
are kept in some kind of computer memory. There are four steps that nearly all CPUs use in their
operation: fetch, decode, execute, and write back.
i) The first step, fetch, involves retrieving an instruction (which is represented by a number
or sequence of numbers) from program memory. The location in program memory is determined by a
program counter (PC), which stores a number that identifies the current position in the program. In other
words, the program counter keeps track of the CPU's place in the program.
The instruction that the CPU fetches from memory is used to determine what the CPU is to do.
ii) In the decode step, the instruction is broken up into parts that have significance to other portions of
the CPU. The way in which the numerical instruction value is interpreted is defined by the CPU's
instruction set architecture (ISA).
However, in more abstract and complicated CPUs and ISAs, a micro-program is often used to assist in
translating instructions into various configuration signals for the CPU. This micro-program is sometimes
rewritable so that it can be modified to change the way the CPU decodes instructions even after it has been
manufactured.
iii) After the fetch and decode steps, the execute step is performed. During this step, various portions
of the CPU are connected so they can perform the desired operation. If, for instance, an addition operation
was requested, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) will be connected to a set of inputs and a set of outputs. The
inputs provide the numbers to be added, and the outputs will contain the final sum. The ALU contains the
circuitry to perform simple arithmetic and logical operations on the inputs.
iv) The final step, write back, simply "writes back" the results of the execute step to some
form of memory. Very often the results are written to some internal CPU register for quick access by
subsequent instructions. In other cases results may be written to slower, but cheaper and larger, main
memory. Some types of instructions manipulate the program counter rather than directly produce result
data. These are generally called "jumps" and facilitate behavior like loops, conditional program execution
(through the use of a conditional jump), and functions in programs.
After the execution of the instruction and writeback of the resulting data, the entire process repeats, with
the next instruction cycle normally fetching the next-in-sequence instruction because of the incremented
value in the program counter. If the completed instruction was a jump, the program counter will be
modified to contain the address of the instruction that was jumped to, and program execution continues
normally. In more complex CPUs than the one described here, multiple instructions can be fetched,
decoded, and executed simultaneously.

i) Computer buses
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 A bus is a path between components of a computer. There are two main buses in a computer; the internal
(or system) bus and the external (or expansion) bus. The system bus connects all the internal computer
components to the CPU and main memory.
When a word or data is transferred between units, all the bits are transferred in parallel over a set of lines
called bus. In addition to the lines that carry the data, the bus must have lines for address and control
progress.
All buses consist of two parts; an address bus and a data bus.
The data bus transfers information about the data whereas the address bus transfers information about
where the data should go. The size of a bus determines how much data can be transmitted at a time.
Every bus has a clock speed measured in Mhz. A fast bus allows the data to be transferred faster. This
makes applications run faster on PCs.
Characteristics of a bus
A bus is characterized by the amount of information that can be transmitted at once. This amount,
expressed in bits, corresponds to the number of physical lines over which data is sent simultaneously. A
32-wire ribbon cable can transmit 32 bits in parallel. The term “width” is used to refer to the number of
bits that a bus can transmit at once.
Additionally, the bus speed is also defined by its frequency (ranging from 100-133 Hertz), the number of
data packets sent or received per second. Each time that data is sent or received is called a cycle. This
way, it is possible to find the maximum transfer speed of the bus.
Bus Categories
In reality, each bus is generally constituted of 50 to 100 distinct physical lines, divided into three
subcategories.
i). Address bus
The address bus (sometimes called the memory bus) transports memory addresses which the processor
wants to access in order to read or write data. It is a unidirectional bus. It connects only the CPU and
RAM and carries only memory address (Note- each byte in RAM is associated with a number which is its
memory address.
ii). Data bus
The data bus transfers instructions coming from or going to the processor. It is a bidirectional bus.
Actually it is a group of parallel wires.
iii). Control bus
The control bus or (command bus) transfers orders and synchronization signals coming from the control
unit and travelling to all other hardware components. It is a bidirectional bus, as it also transmits response
signals from the hardware.
The primary buses
There are generally two buses within a computer;
i). System (internal) bus – sometimes called the front-side bus, or FSB for short. Cables from disc
drives and other internal devices are plugged into the bus. The internal bus allows the processor to
communicate with the system’s central memory the RAM. It enables various motherboard components
(USB, serial and parallel ports, cards inserted in PCI connectors, hard drives, CD-ROM and CD- RW
drive etc) to communicate with one another.
ii) External (Expansion) bus
This connects external devices such as keyboard, mouse, modem, printer and so on to the CPU.
However, it is mainly used to add new devices using what are called expansion slots connected to the
Central Processing Unit.

Other classification of buses

a) Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1394 (firewire)
It has enabled each USB port to support upto 127 different devices. USB or firewire compliant devices
such as key boards, mice, printers and modems can all be plugged into a single USB port. This has
therefore eliminated the need for expansion slots and boards.
b) The Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus
It is a 16-bit data bus used in many computers to attach slower devices such as input devices and modems
to the CPU
c) The Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) bus

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 These buses incorporate a special architecture that allows the video card to access the system RAM
directly, greatly increasing the speed of graphic performance.
d) Local Bus
It is an internal system bus that runs between components on the motherboard and is mostly coupled with
one or more kinds of expansion buses.
e) The Periphery Component Interconnect(PCI) bus
It is a type of local bus designed for easier integration of new data types such as video, audio and graphics.
Advantages of using buses
a) Reduce computer weight due to fewer wires
b) Easy to install
c) Cost effective(only single cable is required)
d) Easy identification of cable faults
e) Well suited for temporary or small networks not requiring high speed (quick set up), resulting in faster
network.
f) Cheaper than other topologies

d) Peripherals
These are attachments to the system unit and include keyboard, mouse, speakers etc

e) Storage Media
i) Primary (Main memory)
The memory unit stores information inform of instruction and data. Computer memory is contained on
memory chips mounted on the motherboard.
There are two types of main memory in use today: Random Access Memory (RAM) and the Read Only
Memory (ROM).

Random Access Memory (RAM)

It is the most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks
while the computer is on, an integrated circuit memory chip allows information to be stored or accessed
in any order and all storage locations are equally accessible.

The RAM is the place in a computer where the operating system, application programs, and data in
current use are kept so that they can be quickly reached by the computer’s processor. RAM is much
faster to read from and write to than the other kinds of storage in a computer, the hard disc, floppy disc,
and CD-ROM. However, the data in RAM stays there only as long as your computer is running. When
you turn off your computer, RAM loses its data. When you turn on your computer again, your operating
system and other files are once again loaded into RAM usually from the hard disc.

There are two technologies used for RAM memories; static and dynamic.

STATIC RAM
It stores a bit of information with a flip-flop i.e. the contents of a static RAM remains stable forever, as
long as power is available.

DYNAMIC RAM
It stores a bit of information as a charge. Due to the way in which the information is stored here, the
packing density is much higher than for static RAM.

READ ONLY MEMORY

On the other hand, ROM provides permanent or semi permanent storage only, its content can be read but
cannot be re-written during normal computer operations (is non-volatile). It stores some standard
processing programmes supplied by the manufactures to operate the personal computer (PC). The basic
input/output program is stored in the ROM that examines and initializes various equipment attached to
the PC, when the switch is made ON.

15
One important reason a computer needs ROM is that it must know what to do when the power is first
turned on. Among other things, ROM stores a set of start-up instructions, which ensures that the rest of
memory is functioning properly, checks for hardware devices and checks for an operating system on the
computer hard disc.

ii) Cache

iii)Secondary storage devices

Hard Discs
A hard disc is a metal platter coated with magnetic oxide that can be magnetized to represent data. Hard
discs come in a variety of sizes.
- Hard disc for mainframes and minicomputers may be as large as 14 inches in diameter. Several discs can
be assembled into a disc pack. There are different types of disc packs, with the number of platters
varying by model. Each disc in the pack has top and bottom surfaces on which to record data. Many disc
devices, however, do not record data on the top of the top platter or on the bottom of the bottom platter.
The mechanism for reading or writing data on a disc is an access arm; it moves a read/write head into
position over a particular track. The read/write head on the end of the access arm hovers just above the
track but does not actually touch the surface. When a read/write head does accidentally touch the disc
surface, this is called a head crash and all data is destroyed. Data can also be destroyed if a read/write
head encounters even minuscule foreign matter on the disc surface.

- Tapes
- The amount of data on a tape is expressed in terms of density, which is the number of characters per
inch (CPI) or bytes per inch (bpi) that can be stored on the tape.

The highest-capacity tape is the digital audio tape, or DAT, which uses a different method of recording
data. Using a method called helical scan recording, DAT wraps around a rotating read/write head that
spins vertically as it moves. This places the data in diagonal bands that run across the tape rather than
down its length. This method produces high density and faster access to data.

Two reels are used, a supply reel and a take-up reel. The supply reel, which has the tape with data on it
or on which data will be recorded, is the reel that is changed. The take-up reel always stays with the
magnetic tape unit. Many cartridges and cassettes have the supply and take-up reels built into the same
case.

Tape now has a limited role because disc has proved the superior storage medium. Disc data is quite
reliable, especially within a sealed module. Furthermore, as we will see, disc data can be accessed
directly, as opposed to data on tape, which can be accessed only by passing by all the data ahead of it on
the tape. Consequently, the primary role of tape today is as an inexpensive backup medium.
- Diskettes

Made of flexible Mylar, a diskette can record data as magnetized spots on tracks on its surface. Diskettes
became popular along with the personal computer.

The older diskette, 5-1/4 inches in diameter, is still in use, but newer computers use the 3-1/2 inch diskette
(Figure 1). The 3-1/2 inch diskette has the protection of a hard plastic jacket, a size to fit conveniently in
a shirt pocket or purse, and the capacity to hold significantly more data than a 5-1/4 inch diskette.

- Flash discs
Personal computer users, who never seem to have enough hard disc storage space, may turn to a
removable hard disc cartridge. Once full, a removable hard disc cartridge can be replaced with a fresh
one. In effect, a removable cartridge is as portable as a diskette, but the disc cartridge holds much more
data. Removable units also are important to businesses concerned with security, because the units can be
used during business hours but hidden away during off hours. A disadvantage of a removable hard disc
is that it takes longer to access data than a built-in hard drive. Also it can be infected with viruses which
16
 delete files.

- Optical Disc Storage

The technology works like this: A laser hits a layer of metallic material spread over the surface of a
disc. When data is being entered, heat from the laser produces tiny spots on the disc surface. To read the
data, the laser scans the disc, and a lens picks up different light reflections from the various spots.

Optical storage technology is categorized according to its read/write capability. Read-only media are
recorded on by the manufacturer and can be read from but not written to by the user. Such a disc cannot,
obviously, be used for your files, but manufacturers can use it to supply software. Applications software
packages sometimes include a dozen diskettes or more; all these could fit on one optical disc with plenty
of room to spare. The most prominent optical technology is the CD-ROM, for compact disc read-only
memory.
 The Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM)
The most prominent optical technology is the CD-ROM, for CD-ROM has a major advantage over other
optical disc designs: The disc format is identical to that of audio compact discs, so the same dust-free
manufacturing plants that are now stamping out digital versions of Mozart or Mary Chapin Carpenter
can easily convert to producing anything from software to an encyclopedia. Furthermore, CD-ROM
storage is large -up to 660 megabytes per disc, the equivalent of over 400 3-1/2 inch diskettes.

 Digital Versatile Disc (DVDs)

Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) is a flat disc, the size of a CD - 4.7 inches diameter and .05 inches thick.
Data are stored in a small indentation in a spiral track, just like in the CD. DVD discs are read by a laser
beam of shorter wave-length than used by the CD ROM drives. This allows for smaller indentations and
increased storage capacity. The data layer is only half as thick as in the CD-ROM. This opens the
possibility to write data in two layers. The outer gold layer is semi transparent, to allow reading of the
underlying silver layer. The laser beam is set to two different intensities, strongest for reading the
underlying silver layer.

A 4.7 GB side of a DVD can hold 135 minutes top quality video with 6 track stereo. This requires a
transmission rate of 4692 bits per second. The 17 GB disc holds 200 hours top quality music recording.

Terms used in mouse action.

a) Point. Moving the mouse pointer to a desired spot on the screen such as over a particular word or
object.
b) Click. Used to select or highlight an object or icon on the screen. Also click is used to position the
cursor for instance in a word processor to indicate where to start inserting text, numbers, pictures or
images. This is done by pressing and releasing quickly, the left mouse button once.
c) Double click is used to
open icons on the desktop. This is done by, pressing the left mouse button in two quick successive clicks.
d) Drag & drop is used to
change the position of icons on the desktop. It’s also used to move an icon from one location to another.
This is done by pressing and holding down the left mouse button over an icon; the mouse pointer is used
to move the object to a new location or position and then release it.
e) Right click is used to
access shortcut menu. This is done by, pressing the right mouse button once, and then a pop-up menu
appears.
1. Trackball is a movable ball on top of a stationary device that is rotated with fingers or palm of the
hand. It’s like an upside down mouse with a protruding ball on top.

Trackball

17
2. Pointing stick looks like a pencil eraser protruding from the keyboard between letters G, H and B. It
is commonly found in laptops.
3. Joystick is a pointing device that consists of a vertical handle like gearshift lever mounted on a base
with one or two buttons. Joysticks are used in video and computer games.
4. Touch pad is a small, flat surface which you slide your finger to move the cursor. Touch pads have
sensors used to detect finger movement. They’re also found in laptops.
5. Light pen contains a light sensitive cell on its tip. Light pen is a light-sensitive stylus, or pen like
device connected by a wire to the computer terminal. The user brings the pen to a desired point on the
display screen and presses the pen button, which identifies that screen location to the computer.
Engineers and illustrators use light pens.

Advantages & disadvantages of the following pointing devices.

18
 Advantages. Devices. Disadvantages.

- Relatively inexpensive - When gripped too tightly can

cause muscle strain
Mouse
- Very little finger movement - Uses more desk space than
needed to reach buttons other pointing devices

- Must be cleaned regularly

- Requires less arm movement - Wrist is bent during use

than mouse
Trackball - More finger movement needed
to reach buttons than with other
pointing devices

- Small footprint - Places more stress on index

finger than other pointing devices
Touch
do
pad
- Least prone to dust - Small active area makes precise
cursor control difficult

Optical readers and scanning devices.

Optical readers are input devices used in data processing, which read the data directly from source of
information.
Scanning devices use laser beam and reflected light to translate images, text, drawings, photos and
symbols into digital form.
The following are examples of optical readers and scanning devices: -
i). Barcode readers are vertical zebra stripped marks that you can see on most manufactured
products. For instance in supermarkets, barcodes are used for the stock control. Barcode readers
works on the principle that a narrow beam light from the reader is reflected back from the patterns of
black lines of various widths on the barcode; and changed into a series of electrical pulses. This
enables the computer to identify the item.

ii). Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) used by banks for handling cheques. Some
of the characters are printed in special magnetic ink.
A barcode & barcode number

A sample cheque

iii). Optical mark reader (OMR) works on the principle that a beam light is used to read and
detect marks on specially prepared documents e.g. answer sheets for multiple choice in an
examination.
iv). Optical character reader (OCR). This is a device used to read printed characters (letters
& figures) in a particular font and concerts them into a digital code. It is used in preparation of gas
and electricity bills.
v). Scanner is a device that translates photos, images, drawings and text into digital form.

19
 A flatbed scanner

Processing hardware.

The data processing hardware here is the CPU; which stands for central processing unit. It is also referred
to as the “brain” of the computer. It follows the instructions of the software to perform calculations,
manipulates data into information and manages the flow of the same information through
the computer.

Microprocessor architecture.
There are four major functional elements or units in a microprocessor system, namely: -
i). The control unit. It directs the movement of electronic signals between main memory and the
arithmetic logic unit. It also directs these electronic signals between main memory and the
input/output devices. For every instruction, the control unit carries out four basic operations known
as the- machine cycle. In the machine cycle the CPU (i). Fetches an instruction (ii). Decodes the
instruction (iii). Executes the instruction (iv). Stores the results.
ii). Arithmetic and logic unit (ALU). The ALU performs arithmetic and logical operations
and controls the speed of those operations. Arithmetic operations are the fundamental math
operations such as addition, subtraction, division and multiplication.
Logical operations are comparisons. That is, the ALU compares two pieces of data to see whether
one is equal to, greater than or less than logical operation.
iii). Registers are special high-speed storage areas. The control unit and the ALU also use registers,
special areas that enhance the computer’s performance. Therefore, registers are high-speed storage
areas that temporarily store data during processing.
They may store program instructions while it is being decoded; stores data while it is being
processed by the ALU or store the results of a calculation.
iv). Computer bus. A bus is a set of parallel wires or electronic pathway used to transmit data,
commands/instructions and power between the CPU and other components of the motherboard.
A bus resembles a multilane highway. The more bus lines it has, the faster the data bits can be
transferred.
Output hardware/Devices.
These are devices that translate information processed by the computers into a form that humans can
understand.
The two types of outputs are soft copy such as the one shown on the display screen, and the hard copy,
which is a printout from a printer.
Soft copy refers to data that is shown on the monitor, audio or voice form. This kind of output is not
tangible.
Hard copy is a printout from a printer and these are tangible output.
Display screens.
Display systems convert computer signals into text and pictures and display them on a television like
screen. Display screens use either cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma or flat
panel display.

20
 An example of CRT is a monitor. A monitor is a specialized high-resolution screen similar to high quality
television set. The video card sends the contents of the system memory via the video RAM on the VGA
card into the monitor.
Speakers.
Speakers are output devices that communicate sound to the user. Speakers produce soft copy output.

Desktop stereo speakers

Printers.
A printer is an output device that prints characters, symbols and graphics on a paper or any other hard
copy medium.
There are two classes of printers: -
1. Impact printers.
2. Non-impact printers.
1. Impact printer forms characters or images by striking on the paper with “hammers” when printing
against an inked ribbon. Therefore the printing head comes into contact with the printing media.
Impact printers can be further subdivided into: -
i). Line printers.
ii).Character printers.

i). Line printers print one line of characters at a time. It prints at a rate of 300 to 3000 lines per
minute.
Examples of line printers are drum printers and chain printers.
ii). Character printers. They print one character at a time. They are much slower than the line
printers.
Examples of character printers include daisy wheel and dot matrix printers.
2. Non-impact printers don’t have “hammers”. The printing head does not come into contact with the
printing media. Instead it uses laser beam to produce a printout. Non-impact printers print a page at a time.
Examples of non-impact printers are laser and inkjet printers.

a) Laser printers use a laser beam to create a page printout. It is a high quality printer, which operates at
a high speed.
b) Ink jet printers use the concept of spraying ink onto the paper. Ink is sprayed from tiny holes on the
ink cartridge onto the paper. Print quality is better than impact printers but not as good as laser
printers.
Advantages and disadvantages of both laser and ink jet printers.
Laser printers. Ink jet printers.
Advantages. Advantages.
 They are quiet and fast when printing.  They are also quiet & fast when printing.
 Less expensive to buy compared to laser
 Produces excellent quality printout. printers.

 Produce coloured printout.

Disadvantages. Disadvantages.
 They are expensive in terms of price They are routinely slow when printing a
and maintenance. coloured document.

Most of them are single colour printers.

21
Comparison between impact & non-impact printers.
Impact printers. Non-impact printers.
 Cheap to buy.  Expensive to buy.
 Slow when printing.  Fast when printing.
 Relatively poor quality printout.  Produces high quality printout.

 Noisy when printing.  Quiet when printing.

Plotters are used for producing technical drawings or even marketing materials such as posters. They can
print on architectural size paper.

22
rage device reads and records information on storage media. The computer uses information stored on the
storage media to perform tasks. Popular examples of storage devices includes a hard disk, floppy drive,
CD-Recordable drive and tape drive.

ASS. Discuss the impacts of ICT in the society

Units of measuring storage hardware.

Most computer systems use digital or binary system where two voltages low & high are used, 0volts &
+5volts. This voltages are denoted as “0” & “1” respectively.

A computer system’ data/information storage capacity is represented by bytes, kilobytes (KB), megabytes
(MB), gigabytes (GB), and terabytes (TB).

Roughly a byte = 1 character of data, Kilobyte = 1000 bytes, megabyte = 1 million bytes, gigabyte = 1
billion bytes and terabyte = 1 trillion bytes.

Letters, numbers and special characters are represented within a computer by means of binary coding
schemes. That is, the off and on or “0” and “1” are arranged in such a way that they can be made to
represent characters, digits or other values.

A bit is one of the binary digits either “0” or “1”.

Byte. A group of eight bits forms one byte or one byte consists of eight bits. Bytes are used to measure the
amounts of information a device can store.

A character can be a number, letter or symbol. Therefore, a bit is the smallest unit of information a
computer can process.

Kilobyte (K). This is approximately equal to one page of a double spaced text.

Megabyte (MB). This is approximately equal to one book.

Gigabyte (GB) is approximately equal to 1000 books or a study lined with bookshelves.

Terabytes (TB) is approximately equal to one entire library of books.

Binary coding schemes.

There are two common coding schemes namely: -

1. ASCII. It is pronounced “Ask-ee”. ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information
Interchange and is the binary code most widely used with microcomputers. Besides more conventional
characters, ASCII includes such characters as math symbols and Greek letters.
2. EBCDIC. It is pronounced “Eb-see-dick”. EBCDIC stands for Extended Binary Code Decimal
Interchange Code and is a binary code used with large computers such as mainframes.

Number systems & representations.

23
 Computers do not use a decimal numbers system which humans are used to. There are other number
systems apart from decimal number system namely: -

i). Octal number system.

ii). Hexadecimal number system.
iii). Decimal number system consists of 0-9 digits that a human can understand.
iv). Binary number system is the number system used in digital computers and other digital
applications.

Decimal-binary equivalence.
Decimal. Binary. NB:
0 0
 The subscript (2) is used for the binary system.
1 1
 The subscript (10) is used for the decimal system.
2 10
3 11
4 100 Binary operations.
5 101
6 110 To perform binary operations, the following sets of rules are used.
7 111
8 1000 i). 0+0=0
9 ii). 0+1=1
1001 iii). 1+0=1
iv). 1+1=0 carry 1
Conversion of decimal to binary & vice versa. Therefore, 910 = 10012

The binary number system is a weighted code where the value of a digit depends on its position.

The most significant bit is at the left while the least significant bit is at the right. The decimal value of a
binary digit “1” is given by 2k-1 where “K” is the position of the bit counting from right to left.

 Binary to decimal conversion.

Example 1.

i). Convert binary number 1100102 to decimal.

To convert the above binary number to decimal, we compute it as follows: -

(1×25) + (1×24) + (0×23) + (0×22) + (1×21) + (0×20)

32 + 16 + 0 + 0 + 2 + 0 = 5010

Therefore, 1100102 = 5010

 Decimal to binary conversion.

When converting from decimal to binary, the decimal number is continuously divided by two (2). The
remainder of each subsequent division is written down sequentially. Therefore, the reverse order of
this sequence gives the binary equivalent.

Example 1.

24
 i). Convert decimal number 1910 to binary.
Subscript. Decimal Remainder.
number.
2 19 1
2 9 1
2 4 0
2 2 0
2 1 1
0

Therefore, 1910 = 100112

 Converting decimal fraction to binary.

Example 1.

i). Convert decimal fraction 548.35610 to binary.

Subscript. Decimal Remainder.
number.
2 548 0
2 274 0
2 137 1
2 68 0
2 34 0
2 17 1
2 8 0
2 4 0
2 2 0
2 1 1
0

Decimal Remainder
fraction.

0.356*2=0.71 0
2

0.712*2=1.42 1
4

0.424*2=0.84 0
Therefore, 548.35610 = 8
1000100100.0102

25
COMPUTER SOFTWARE
a) Software concept
Computer software is a set of programs, documents, step-by-step instructions (procedures) and
routines associated with the operation of a computer system that makes the hardware capable of its
various activities.
b) Software classification
i) System software
a) Operating Software
b) System Utilities
ii) Application software
a) Application packages ( offshelf)
b) User programs ( Tailor made)
iii) Programming Languages
a) Machine language
b) Assembly language
c) High level language
d) Very-High level language
e) Natural language

SYSTEM SOFTWARE
These are programs that start up the computer and function as the principal coordinator of all
hardware components and applications software programs. This is first loaded into the RAM of
the computer before loading the application software. It is developed and installed in the
computer system for the purpose of developing other programs. The software is developed and
installed by the manufacturer of the system hardware.
Functions of system software
1. Booting the computer and ensuring that all the hardware elements are working properly.
2. Performing operations such as retrieving, loading, executing and storing application
programs.
3. Storing and retrieving files
4. Performing a variety of system utility programs
System software is divided into:-
i) Operating system-programs used start up a computer. Examples include MSDOS,
windows, Linux.
ii) Utility software
iii) Firmware
iv) Networking software
Firmware (Stored logic)
This is a combination of both the software and hardware recorded permanently on
electronic (memory) chips that is mounted/plugged into the motherboard.
Utility software
This is a special program that makes certain aspects of the computer to go on more
smoothly and support the development of the application programs and render services
by performing the common processing requirements.
Such services include sorting, copying, file handling and disc management.
These utility programs are usually available on separate diskettes.
Examples
i) Virus protection – the anti-virus utility program scans hard discs, diskettes,
and memory to detect and delete viruses. Example – Norton, NOD32,
Kaspersky, McAfee, Avira etc
ii) Backup – this utility make automatic backup or duplicate copy of
information on the hard disc
iii) Data recovery – it is used to restore data that has been physically damaged
or corrupted.
Common service programs
a) Text editors
26
 b) Language translators
c) Linker
d) Loader
e) Sort utility
f) Merge utility
g) Copy utility
h) Dump utility
i) Database Management System (DBMS)
APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Application packages are programs that are designed to help the user accomplish specific tasks.

SOFTWARE USES EXAMPLES

1. Word Typing and manipulating text, Ms word, Lotus, WordPad, WordStar
processor characters, words, sentences to
look attractive eg in production of
letters and reports
2. Spreadsheet Manipulating text, numbers and Ms Excel, Lotus 123
formulae eg in budgeting,
financial analysis
3. Desktop Designing publications like Adobe PageMaker, Ms Publisher
Publishing newsletters, newspapers, books
4. Computer Technical drawing AutoCAD, ArchiCAD,
Aided Design
CAD
5. Databases Used to organize, store & retrieve Ms Access, Dbase
information (files) from a large
body of data
6. Graphic Creating and manipulating CorelDraw, Adobe Photoshop
software pictures
7. Power point Create professional quality Ms power point
slideshows presentations.
Classification according to acquisition
i) Offshelf(packaged)
ii) Tailor made(customized)
Standard software (Off shelf)
These consist of computer programs designed to satisfy a user’s specific needs. They are
developed by software engineers, packaged and then made available for purchase through vendors.
A developer may bundle more than one but closely related software into one package to form a
suite or integrated software. Examples – Lotus suite, Microsoft office 2003,
Advantages of offshelf software
1. They are less expensive to acquire than the in-house software
2. They are readily available for almost any task
3. Most of the packages are user friendly.
4. Saves development time and cost of developing programs.
5. The packages are generally portable
Disadvantages of offshelf software
1. The user cannot modify the program to meet his/her needs.
2. The package may not meet the organization needs.
Tailor made (in-house)
These are programs that are uniquely designed and tailored to meet user’s needs. For example,
a bank may decide to manage its operations using a unique program developed by the
programmer.
These software are developed using specific program language. These programs are not
available in the shops and once developed for one company or user may not address needs of
other users.

27
 Advantages of in-house software
1. Handles specific needs of the user
2. They can easily be modified to suit the needs of the user
Disadvantages of in-house software
1. Expensive to develop
2. Cannot be used to solve several tasks
c) Installation of basic computer software
When a program is to be installed in the computer, the program CD is inserted in the CD drive and
further systematic instructions will be displayed on the desktop. Once all the steps have been
completed, a dialog box indicating that the program has been successfully installed will be
displayed. Usually it is recommended to restart the computer for the new program to function.
Additional hardware such as printers usually comes with installation software for that particular
printer.
iv) Programming languages
A programming language is a set of rules that provide a way of telling the computer what
operations to perform.
Levels of languages
v) Lower Level language – are close or similar to the language computer itself uses
or understand or machine understandable language ie 0s &1s
vi) Higher level language- are closer or similar to language people use or human
understandable language like English

GENERATION OF LAGUAGES
There are five levels of language corresponding to generations.
1) Machine languages
Represents data and program instructions as 0s and 1s ie binary digits that correspond to the
on/off electrical states in the computer. It is composed of numbers.
2) Assembly languages
To replace the 0s and 1s in machine language, assembly language use mnemonic codes,
which are abbreviations that are easy to remember eg A for Add, C for Compare, MP for
Multiply etc?
Since machine language is the only language that the computer can actually execute, a
translator called Assembly Program is required to convert the assembly language program
into machine language
3) High-level languages
Programs were written in an English-like manner, thus making them more easy and a
programmer could accomplish more with less effort.
A translator is needed to translate the symbolic statements of a high-level language into
computer executable machine language and this translator is a compiler. There are many
compilers for each language and at least one for each type of computer eg FORTRAN
FORmula TRANslator.
4) Very High-level languages
These are shorthand programming languages. They are often known by their generation
number ie fourth generation languages or 4GLs.
An operation that requires hundreds of lines in the 3rd GL typically requires only 5-10
lines in 4GL. These are difficult to describe because there are so many types eg COBOL
& Query Language for database.
5) Natural languages
These resemble the ‘natural’ spoken English language ie they are similar to human
understandable language. They are the latest 5th GL and most ill-defined than 4th GLs. A
user of one of these languages can say the same thing in a number of ways.
The compiler translate this natural language to machine language and when it is not sure
what the user has in mind, it politely as for further explanation.

28
 OPERATING SYSTEMS
a) Operating Systems
Definition: An operating system refers to the computer software that provides the interface
between the hardware, the user and the application software. It governs and manages the computer
resources and activities.
Categories of operating systems
i) Resident components
ii) Non-resident
Resident component
These are programs of OS that must remain in the RAM at all times. Such programs are loaded
from the disk as soon as the computer is switched on. These include:
a) Task manager
b) Device drivers
c) File manager
The process of loading the OS from the disc into main memory is called booting the computer.
Booting refers to the process of starting up a computer.
There are two ways of booting up a computer;
a) Cold booting – done using the power button on the computer’s system unit.
Normally done when the computer is initially off.
b) Warm booting – this is done when the computer hangs (it temporarily stops to
receive instructions). It is done by use of the reset/restart button on system unit or
by a combination of the following keys from the keyboard; CTRL + ALT +DEL.
1. During booting, a small program known as bootstrap which is stored in ROM is executed.
2. During execution, the program checks:-
i) Mouse, keyboard and monitor, discs are functioning well
ii) Carries out diagnostic check of the CPU, RAM, ROM to confirm that none of them is has a
fault.
iii) If all items are working well, the bootstrap loads program of the memory resident portion
of the OS from the disk into the memory.
iv) The bootstrap then passes control to the OS by causing the first instruction of OS to be
executed.
v) The OS then display on the screen an interface through which one can interact with the
computer.
Non-resident
They are only loaded into a RAM as and when it is needed. These include:-
i) Program development tools
ii) House-keeping utilities
iii) Sorting programs that manage data into some required order
iv) Special maths programs
TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEMS
a) OS is classified into;-
i) Number of tasks handled concurrently
ii) Number of users
iii) Human-computer Interface (HCI)
b) Classification according to tasks handled concurrently
i) Single program OS
ii) Multitasking OS
Single program
It allows processing of only one user program in the main memory at a time. User can only run one
interface program at a time. The user must exit from the program before loading and running another
program. Example Ms-DOS
Multitasking OS
It allows single CPU to execute what appears to be more than one program at the same time. The CPU
switches its attention between programs as it receives requests for processing, executing instructions from
one program and then from another using the concept of giving a time slices to each application.

29
 c) Classification according to the number of users.
i) Single user
ii) Multi-user/multi access
Single user
Supports only one person and runs only one user application at a time.
Multi-user/multi access
It allows more than one user to interactively use the computer. It can be installed on a computer that is
accessed by many people at the same time.
Examples – UNIX, Novell, Windows NT/2000, Linux
d) Classification according to the interface
i) Command line user interface(CLUI)
ii) Menu driven interface
iii) Graphical user interface(GUI) eg windows operating systems
The Windows Operating System
 This is operating system software developed and marketed by Microsoft Inc. It a Graphic User
Interface (GUI) OS and has the WIMP (Window Icon Menu and Pointing device) features that
make it more user friendly.
 The are different version of Ms – windows e.g. Window 95, 98, 2000, NT, ME, 2003, XP, and
Vista
b) Booting a Computer
Shut Down Procedure
 Click on the start button from task bar
 Click on shut down or turn off computer from the pull up menu
 Click on shut down or turn off from the dialog box that appears
 Wait as the computer goes off or prompts you to safely turn it off. This depends on
the type of the computer’s processor.

c) Functions of Operating Systems

The functions of the operating system are;
 Job scheduling – includes preparing, scheduling and monitoring jobs for
continuous processing by the computer.
 Resource control – includes controlling the use of computer resources by other
system software and application programs being executed.
 Input/output handling – it controls the allocation of i/o devices and resolves an
conflicts that may occur if more than one application program or users request the
same device at the same time.
 Memory management –it determines how much memory is allocated to user
programs.
 Error handling – it deals with errors which are produced during program
execution and keep the computer running when errors do occur.
 Example of operating system:
Ms DOS, PC DOS, UNIX, Linux, Windows etc.
Terms used in Windows OS
 Desktop – work area on the computer’s screen. It is analogous to the ordinary table top where one
can place different objects.
 Window – area on the desktop covered by an opened program.
 Icon - An icon is a small graphical picture that represents files, program, and folders e.t.c. on the
desktop.
 Active Window - It is the window that the user is working in. If lots of windows open, one of
them will have a different colour on title bar at the top. This is the active window.
 File – any collection of related information that is given a name and stored on a disk so that it can
be retrieved when needed. Can be a data file, system file or application program file
 Folder – a ‘container’ or storage location that contains files and other folders.

30
 Drive – refers to secondary storage locations in the computer normally labelled by letters of
alphabet e.g. C: / for hard disk, A: / for floppy disk etc. store information organised in files and
folders.
d) Operating systems commands
Directories/folders/files management
i) Creating folders/files
Creating a file or folder on the desktop
a) Right click an empty location on the desktop
b) Point at New from the pop - up menu
c) To create a file, select the name of the program to create the file by e.g. Microsoft
Word. To create a folder, click on folder from the side kick menu
d) Type the name of the file or the folder
e) Press enter
Creating a file or folder in another folder window
a) Click on the file menu
b) Point at New from the pop - up menu
c) To create a file, select the name of the program to create the file by e.g. Microsoft
Word. To create a folder, click on folder from the side kick menu
d) Type the name of the file or the folder
e) Press enter
NB: A folder in another folder is called a subfolder.
ii) Copying files and folders
 Duplicating the file or the folder in the same storage location or another.
Steps
a) Select the file/folder to copy
b) Click on the edit menu
c) Click on copy from the pull down menu
d) Open the new location to copy the folder to
e) Click on edit menu again
f) Click on paste from the pull down menu
Assignment
 Locate the shortcut commands from the standard toolbar used for copying and
pasting files and folders.
iii) Moving/copying folders/files
 Relocating the file or the folder to same storage location or another location.
Steps
a) Select the file/folder to move
b) Click on the edit menu
c) Click on cut from the pull down menu
d) Open the new location to move the folder to
e) Click on edit menu again
f) Click on paste from the pull down menu
Assignment
 Locate the shortcut commands from the standard toolbar used for moving and
pasting files and folders.
iv) Renaming files/folders
 File and folder names can be changed
Steps
a) Select the file/folder to rename
b) Click on the file menu
c) Click on rename from the pull down menu
d) Type the new name and then press enter from the keyboard
Or
Right click the file or the folder to rename
Click on rename from the popup menu
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 Type the name then press enter key from the keyboard
v) Deleting files/folders
 Folders stored in drive c: / are temporary send to the recycle bin when deleted and
can be later deleted permanently or restored to their original locations.
 Those stored in removable media like floppy disks and flash disks are not sent to
the recycle bin and may not be recovered.
Steps
a) Select the file/folder to delete
b) Click on the file menu
c) Click on delete and confirm deletion
OR
 Select the file/folder, press delete key form keyboard the confirm deletion
vi) Searching and sorting files
vii) File security and protection
 There are different methods used to ensure that files and folders are free from
unauthorized access. This may include
a) Assigning passwords to open and write files
b) Assigning log-in user names and password for the computers containing the
files
c) Applying the read-only attributes to ensure that new data cannot be
accidentally written in the file
d) Write protecting storage media like the floppy disks
e) Applying hide attributes to ensure that the files are not visible to the
unauthorised access
f) Encrypting data/information in the file
viii) Drive/file/folder properties
Relocating the file or the folder to same storage location or another location.
Steps
a) Select the drive/file/folder to view its properties
b) Click on the file menu
c) Click on properties from the pull down menu. The properties dialog box appears.
d) Properties window appears. Using the properties you be able to ascertain the size and
attributes of the drive/file/folder etc
e) Managing discs
i) Assigning a volume label
ii) Checking disc storage status
iii) Formatting a disc
iv) Scanning a disc

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WORD PROCESSING
1. Word processing: This is the process of manipulating text, characters, words, and sentences in
such a manners as to make the final document free of errors and attractive to look at.
2.Word processor: An application software that enables the user to create, save, edit, format and
print text-rich documents. Microsoft word is one of the products in the Microsoft office programs
suit. There several versions of Microsoft word determined by every release of the Microsoft office
programs suite e.g. Ms Word 97, 2000, XP, 2003, 2007.
Advantages of Electronic Word Processor programs
 Easier to use due to automated features such as Word-wrap, autocorrect and auto
complete.
 They have superior editing tools such as spelling checker, the Thesaurus etc. hence
making editing easier.
 Can store documents for future retrieval
 They have superior formatting features that make a document more appealing to the
reader.
 The user can produce multiple copies more easily
 Copy and move (cut) operation make it easier to manipulate a document.

a) Concepts of word processing

i) File
Any collection of related information that is given a name and stored on a disk so that it
can be retrieved when needed. Can be a data file, system file or application program file
ii) Save
To save a word processor document follow the procedure below;
i) From the File menu, click the Save As command to save the document the first time
or with a new name (Save command is used when you want to save changes in the
document)
ii) In the Save As dialog box that appears, select the location (drive/folder) from the
“Save in” list box
iii) Type in the name of the file in the File name box
iv) Click the save button or press the Enter key

PASSWORD PROTECTING A DOCUMENT

• To protect a document from unauthorized access or modification, use password. Since
password is case sensitive, avoid mixed case, preferably use lower case. To create a
password:
a) On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Security tab.
b) Type in a password in the Password to open box or the Password to modify box
c) Set other security options
d) Click OK.

iii) Word wrap

A word processor provides the user with a blank screen in which he/she can enter text or
pictorial objects such as a pictures and drawings.
As you type, the cursor flows automatically to the next line when it reaches the right end of
the page. This is referred to as word wrap.
At the end of the page, Word automatically inserts a new page and scrolls up the screen.
iv) Delete
To delete a character, a word or a block of text:
1. Highlight the text to delete

33
 2. Press the Delete or the backspace key.
NB: Delete key erases characters to the right of the cursor while the backspace deletes
characters to the left of the cursor.
NB: Use the type over mode to replace characters to the right of text or insert mode to
insert a character(s) by pushing the rest of the characters to the right.

b) Functions of word processing

Features of a word window
i) Title bar - Title bar indicates the name of the application program in use the
currently open file, minimizes, and restore and the close buttons.
ii) Menu bar - The menu bar provides the user with group of commands in drop down
list used to create and manipulate a document.
iii) Standard Toolbar – this comprises many buttons of commands that provide
shortcut to the same commands available in the menu bar. These buttons relate to
frequently performed activities, which are performed while typing the text. To know
which button perform which activity, rest the mouse pointer on the button for a while.
When you do so, a message, called tool tip will get displayed. For example, when the
“save” button is clicked, typed text will be saved.
iv) Document window/Work Area - This is the work area where you create your
document. It resembles an ordinary piece of paper.
v) Status bar - The status bar is the communication point between the user and the
application program. For example in Microsoft Word, when saving a document the
status bar may indicate “Word is saving ……”
vi) Vertical and horizontal scroll bars/Arrows - Used to view the hidden parts of the
document. E.g. one can view text hidden at the top of the page by scrolling down and
view hidden at the bottom by scrolling down the document using the scroll bars or the
arrows.
vii) View buttons - Used to switch between different document views e.g. normal view.
viii) Cursor/Insertion pointer – Shows where the next character will appear as
you type.

Document Views
• Microsoft word provides different views for viewing the document that include;
a) Normal
b) Web layout
c) Print layout
d) Outline
To change from one view to another, follow the steps below;
1) Click on view menu
2) Click on the type of view that you want to display
QS: What is the difference between the different views of the Microsoft word document?

c) Document creation and manipulation (Editing)

Editing refers to the making of necessary changes or modification to an existing
document
 Create a document
 Save a document
 Format a document – character formatting, bold, italics, underlining, fonts (size, style,
colour)

a. Fonts
To format text font:
1. Highlight the text
2. From the Format menu, click Font
3. In the font dialog box, select the font type, style, size and colour and any other
attribute.
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 4. Click OK.

Paragraph formatting
A paragraph is a separate block of text dealing with a single theme and starting on a new
line or indent. Some of the formatting features you can apply onto a paragraph include
 Alignment
Alignment is the arrangement of text relative to the left margin, centre of page or the right
margin. The five major alignment options available are the left, centre, right and justified
and force justified.
To align text:
1. Highlight the text
2. From the Format menu, click Paragraph.
3. In the paragraph dialog box, select the alignment option from the alignment list box
then click the OK.
NB: You can apply alignment by simply clicking any of the five alignment buttons on the
formatting toolbar

 Setting tabs and Indentation

•Tabs refer to definite stops when the tab key is pressed while indenting is moving a line or
a block of text away from the margin using the tab key.
To set tabs:
1. From the Format menu, click Tabs
2. In the Tab dialog box, set the tab stop positions, alignment and leading then click
the onset.
2. Repeat the same steps for all other tab stops then lastly click ok.
3. Select the paragraph that you want to indent
4. Click on the format menu
5. Click on paragraph from the pull down menu. The paragraph dialog box appears
6. Select the indent option to use e.g. left, right or special indent such as first line
indent or hanging indent.

 Spacing
You can set the space between lines, paragraphs or blocks text.
To space lines:
1) Highlight the lines of text
2) From the Format menu, click Paragraph
3) In the paragraph dialog box, select the line spacing option from the line spacing list
box
4) Click the OK button.

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 Superscript and Subscript
•A superscript appears just above the rest of the characters as in cm2 while a subscript
appears just below other characters as in H2O.
a) To make text superscript or subscript:
b) Highlight the character(s)
c) From the Format menu, click font
d) From the font dialog box check superscript or subscript
e) Click Ok to close the font dialog box

Drop caps
•A drop cap is a large character in a paragraph that occupies more than one line down.
•To create a dropped cap:
1) Highlight the paragraph you want to begin with drop cap
2) Click on format menu
3) Click Drop Cap. Drop cap dialog box appears
4) Click Dropped or In Margin.
5) Specify the number of lines and other options
6) Click OK.

 Bullets and numbers are used to create ordered lists.

 To add bullets or numbers to a list:
 Highlight the text
 Click on the format menu
 Click on bullets and numbering from the pull down menu
 From dialog box displayed, click Bullets or Numbered tab.
 Click the bullet or numbering thumbnail you want to apply.
 Click Ok.
 Page setup
• Page set up options let you define the paper size, margins and operations.
• To set up a page:
1. Click on File menu
2. Click Page Setup from the pull down menu
In the page setup dialog box, click either of the following:
– Margins tab to set up page margins
– Paper tab to specify the paper type and orientation
– Layout tab to specify the page content layout relative to the margins
3. Click OK to apply the settings.

 Page breaks
•Page, section and column breaks are used to force the cursor to move from a new page,
section or column even before the end of the current.
•To insert a break:
1. Position the insertion pointer where you want to break
2. Click on the insert menu
3. Click on Break from the pull down menu
4. In the break dialog box, set the break type
E.g. page break, column break etc
5. Click OK.

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  Creating multi-columns and column widths
a) Inserting columns
•Columns subdivide a page into several vertical sections.
•To set columns:
a) Highlight the text or click at the point from where to set the columns
b) Click on format menu
c) Click columns from the pull down menu. The columns dialog box appears
d) In the columns dialog box enter the number of columns, set the column width, a line
between if need be and any other option to apply
e) Specify where to apply the columns e.g. the whole document, this section, selected
text or this point forward
f) Click OK.

 Change case
The cases applied to text are; lowercase, UPPERCASE, Sentence case, Title Case and
tOGGLE cASE. To change case:
1. Highlight the text
2. From the Format menu, click Change Case
3. From change case dialog box, select the case option you want to apply.
4. Click OK.
NB: The use of case in this sentence is deliberate.

 Page numbering
i) Page numbers are used to organize a large document for ease of reference.
ii) To insert page numbers:
iii) Click Insert menu
iv) Click on page numbers the insert page numbers dialog box appears
v) In the position box, specify whether to place the page numbers at the top of page
(header) or at the bottom of the page (footer).
vi) In the Alignment box, specify whether to align page numbers to the left, centre or right
of page.
vii) If you don’t want a number on the first page, clear the “Show number on first page”
check box
viii) Click OK.
 Headers and footers
• Headers are lines of text that appears at the top margin of every page or selected pages
while footers appears at the bottom margin.
• To insert a header or footer:
a) Click on the View menu
b) Click Header and Footer from the pull down menu
c) To create a header, enter text or pictorial object in the header area.
d) Click on switch between header and footer command button from the header and
footer toolbar to create footer.
e) Click inside the footer area and enter the text or pictorial object.
f) Click Close on the header and footer toolbar.

 Foot notes and end notes

Using the mouse pointer,
i) select the point to insert footnote/endnote
ii) Select references.
iii) From the drop down menu, select either – insert footnote, insert end not or next
footnote.
iv) Type the footnote/endnote at desired point
v) Click ok

37
d) Tables creation and manipulation
i) Tables – insert rows and columns
• A table is made up of rows and columns of cells that you can fill with text and
graphics. Tables are often used to organize and present information.
• Columns are the vertical divisions while rows are the horizontal divisions of the
table.
• Intersections between columns and rows form cells which are the units for holding
data.

Creating a table
a) Click where you want to create a table.
b) On the Table menu, point to Insert, and then click Table.
c) Under Table size, select the number of columns and rows.
d) Under AutoFit behaviour, choose options to adjust table size.
e) To use a built-in table format, click AutoFormat.
f) Click ok

ii) Create cells and resize

Add a cell, row, or column to a table
•Select the same number of cells, rows, or columns as the number of rows or
columns you want to insert. .
•Click on the Table menu
•Point to Insert
•Click an option from the sidekick menu e.g. rows above etc
NB:
•You can also use the Draw Table tool to draw the row or column where you want.
•To quickly add a row at the end of a table, click the last cell of the last row, and
then press the TAB key.
•To add a column to the right of the last column in a table, click in the last column.
On the Table menu, point to Insert, and then click Columns to the Right.

•Resizing cells, rows, columns and the table

•To change column width
•Rest the pointer on the column boundary you want to move until it becomes a plus
with two sided arrows and then drag the boundary until the column is the width you
want.
•NB:
•To change a column width to a specific measurement, click a cell in the column. On
the Table menu, click Table Properties, and then click the Column tab. Select the
options you want.
•To make the columns in a table automatically fit the contents, click a table, point to
AutoFit on the Table menu, and then click AutoFit to Contents.
•To display column width measurements, click a cell and then hold down ALT as
you drag the markers on the ruler.
To change row height
•Rest the pointer on the row boundary you want to move until it becomes a vertical
two sided arrow and then drag the boundary.
•NB:
a) To change a row height to a specific measurement, click a cell in the row.
On the Table menu, click Table Properties, and then click the Row tab. Select the
options you want.
b) To display row height measurements, click a cell, hold down ALT as you
drag the markers on the vertical ruler.
To resize an entire table

38
  In Print Layout view, rest the pointer on the table until the table resize
handle appears on the lower-right corner of the table.
 Rest the pointer on the table resize handle until a double-headed arrow
appears.
 Drag the table boundary until the table is the size you want.
Merge cells into one cell in a table
• You can combine two or more cells in the same row or column into a single
cell. For example, you can merge several cells horizontally to create a table heading
that spans several columns.
Steps:
a) Select the cells you want to merge.
b) On the Table menu, click Merge Cells.
2) Split a cell into multiple cells in a table
a) Click in a cell, or select multiple cells that you want to split.
b) On the Table menu, click Split Cells.
c) Select the number of columns or rows you want to split the selected cells
into.

iii) Entering text and formatting

To type the data in the cell, click the mouse in the desired cell and start typing the data
from keyboard. Using arrow keys, you can move within the cell. Pressing Tab key moves
insertion pointer ahead by 1 cell, while Shift and Tab keys pressed together take the
insertion point back one cell.
iv) Borders and shading
Perform the following to introduce borders around the selected text and shading it
a) Select the text, around which the border is to be introduced.
b) Select format option or page layout.
c) Select page borders from drop down menu
d) Select page border from dialog box.
e) Select the border type, mentioned under “setting” section of the dialog box.
Somehow, if the border is to be removed, select “none” option.
f) To shade, select shading in the dialog box.
g) Select the color in which the background is to be shaded. If shading is to be
removed, select “no fill” option.
h) Click ok
v) Lines and drawing
a) Using the mouse pointer, select where to insert the drawing or lines.
b) From the menu, select “insert” option
c) Select “shapes” option
d) From the drop down menu, select the type of line or drawing
e) Using mouse pointer, draw the line or shape as required
f) Click outside the drawing to complete.

39
e) Mail merging
i) Creating a main document
• A feature that enables one to create a standard document e.g. forms letters to be received b
many recipients.
• One can use the Mail Merge Wizard to create form letters, mailing labels, envelopes,
directories, and mass e-mail and fax distributions.
• This is done in four basic steps:
a) Open or create a main document 
• Main document: In a mail-merge operation in Word, the document that contains the text
and graphics that are the same for each version of the merged document, for example, the return
address or salutation in a form letter.

b) Open or create a data source 

• Data source: A file that contains the information to be merged into a document. For
example, the list of names and addresses you want to use in a mail merge.

ii) Add or customize merge fields 

iii) Merge Field: A placeholder that you insert in the main document. For example, insert the
merge field «City» to have Word insert a city name, such as “Nairobi," that's stored in the
City data field in the main document.
iv) Merge data from the data source into the main document to create a new, merged
document.
v) Exercise:
vi) Using mail merge feature in a word processor, write letters to all parents/guardians of the
students in your school inviting them for a parent’s day.

f) Application of word processing utilities

i) Search and replace
• This is a feature used to locate for a word or a phrase and replace it with another.
To find and replace a word or phrase:
1. From Edit menu, click Find or Replace
The find and replace dialog box

2) In the “Find what” box, type the word or phrase to find.

Click the Replace tab and in the “Replace With” type the word or phrase to replace the
found word or phrase.

Proof – Reading a Document

Spelling and grammar checker
Spelling and grammar checker lets you automatically locate for misspelled words and
grammatical problems.
To spell check a document:
1. From Tools menu click Spelling and Grammar or press F7
In the displayed dialog box, misspelled words are shown in red while grammatically
incorrect phrases are in green. 3.
From the suggestion list, select the correct spelling or grammar.
Click on change to correct the word or click on change (All) button to correct all instances
of the misspelled word. To ignore the error once, click on ignore or click the ignore all to
ignore every instance of such a word.
Ms- Word prompts you when the spelling and grammar checking is complete.
The Spelling and Grammar dialog box is shown below;

40
 Autocorrect and Auto text:
• Autocorrect and AutoText make are used to automatically correct a commonly
misspelled word and insert a predefined text when creating a document.
To create an autocorrect or auto text:
a) Click on the insert menu
b) Point to auto text, then click auto text from the side
c) Click the Auto text or Autocorrect tab and type the autocorrect or Auto text
d) Click OK to apply and close the dialog box.
d) Auto complete
• This is a feature that displays a complete word when the user types the first few
characters of the word. This enables the user to type faster by simply accepting the
suggested word if he/she intends to type it by pressing enter.
Printing a document
Print individualized document – printer set up, selecting a printer, print settings, printer
connection, print preview print options, printer status, print range, copies, close
• To print a document:
a) First preview it by clicking Print preview on the File menu.
b) To print, On the File menu click Print
c) Select the printer, range, number of copies and other options from the dialog box.
d) Click OK.
Troubleshooting Printing Problems
• Some of the printing problems you may encounter are:
a) Lack of two-way communication due to poor installation of the printer software (drivers), if
the printer is off or not connected.
b) Paper jams due to use of poor quality of paper or paper folds.
c) Poor quality print due to poor quality ink or toner used.

41
 SPREAD SHEETS
a) Meaning of spread sheets
Spreadsheet is software used to organize and present data in easy-to understand forms like tables,
graphs and charts for easy analysis. Ms-Excel is one such software-tool designed and developed by
Microsoft Corporation of USA.
Workbook software comprises of multiple worksheets with data editing facilities and inbuilt
calculation abilities. When formulae are defined in a worksheet, automatic calculations are done
and results are generated.

Create a New Worksheet.

A worksheet is a tool that is used for maintaining predominantly numeric data in a tabular form,
simplifying numerous calculations and presenting numerical data graphically. Instances where it
is useful include:
1. Company Sales Report showing the sales for each item over the year.
2. Employees Payroll to calculate the employees’ salaries for each month.
3. Students Progress to store information on students’ marks and monitor their progress.
4. Personal Expenses to maintain a budget of your monthly expenses.
5. Mortgage Repayment Calculations to calculate the monthly repayment amount on a mortgage
loan.

Step-by-Step.
1. Click the mouse on “start ‘button
2. Selet “all programs’
3. Select” Microsoft Excel” and Ms-Excel window will appear
4. Decide on the items to be included in the worksheet.
5. Decide on the layout of the worksheet. (That is, which items should appear in which
columns, etc.)

Parts of the Excel Screen

Name Description
i Active cell indicator
This dark outline indicates the currently active cell (one of the 17,179,869,184 cells on
each worksheet).
ii Application Close button - Clicking this button closes Excel.
iii Application Minimize button - Clicking this button minimizes the Excel window.
iv Column letters - Letters range from A to XFD — one for each of the 16,384 columns in the
worksheet. You can click a column heading to select an entire column of cells, or drag a column
border to change its width.
v File button - Click this button to open Back Stage view, which contains many options for
working with your document (including printing), and setting Excel options.
vi Formula bar - When you enter information or formulas into a cell, it appears in this line.
vii Help button - Clicking this button displays the Excel Help system window.
viii Horizontal scrollbar - Use this tool to scroll the sheet horizontally.
ix Minimize Ribbon button - Clicking this button hides the Ribbon, giving you a bit more space
onscreen. When you click a tab, the Ribbon reappears.
x Name box - This field displays the active cell address or the name of the selected cell, range, or
object.
xi Page View buttons - Change the way the worksheet is displayed by clicking one of these buttons.
xii Quick Access toolbar - This customizable toolbar holds commonly used commands. The Quick
Access toolbar is always visible, regardless of which tab is selected.
xiii Ribbon - This is the main location for Excel commands. Clicking an item in the tab list changes the
Ribbon that displays.
xiv Row numbers - Numbers range from 1 to 1,048,576 — one for each row in the worksheet. You can
click a row number to select an entire row of cells.

42
 xv Sheet tabs - Each of these notebook-like tabs represents a different sheet in the workbook. A
workbook can have any number of sheets, and each sheet has its name displayed in a sheet tab.
xvi Insert Sheet button - By default, each new workbook that you create contains three sheets.
Add a new sheet by clicking the Insert Worksheet button (which is displayed after the last sheet
tab).
xvii Sheet tab scroll buttons - Use these buttons to scroll the sheet tabs to display tabs that aren’t
visible.
xviii Status bar - This bar displays various messages as well as the status of the Num Lock, Caps
Lock, and Scroll Lock keys on your keyboard. It also shows summary information about the range of
cells that is selected. Right-click the status bar to change the information that’s displayed.
xix Tab list - Use these commands to display a different Ribbon, similar to a menu.
xx Title bar - This displays the name of the program and the name of the current workbook, and
also holds some control buttons that you can use to modify the window.
xxi Vertical scrollbar - Use this to scroll the sheet vertically.
xxii Window Close button - Clicking this button closes the active workbook window.
xxiii Window Maximize/Restore button - Clicking this button increases the workbook window’s
size to fill Excel’s complete workspace. If the window is already maximized, clicking this button
“unmaximizes” Excel’s window so that it no longer fills the entire screen.
xxiv Window Minimize button - Clicking this button minimizes the workbook window, and it
displays as an icon.
xxv Zoom control - Use this scroller to zoom your worksheet in and out.

Excel Worksheet Movement Keys

Key Action
 Up arrow (↑) Moves the active cell up one row.
 Down arrow (↓) Moves the active cell down one row.
 Left arrow (←) or Shift+Tab Moves the active cell one column to the left.
 Right arrow (→) or Tab Moves the active cell one column to the right.
 PgUp Moves the active cell up one screen.
 PgDn Moves the active cell down one screen.
 Alt+PgDn Moves the active cell right one screen.
 Alt+PgUp Moves the active cell left one screen.
 Ctrl+Backspace Scrolls the screen so that the active cell is visible.
 ↑* Scrolls the screen up one row (active cell does not change).
 ↓* Scrolls the screen down one row (active cell does not change).
 ←* Scrolls the screen left one column (active cell does not change).
 →* Scrolls the screen right one column (active cell does not change).

Ribbon tabs
The commands available in the Ribbon vary, depending upon which tab is selected. The Ribbon is
arranged into groups of related commands. Here’s a quick overview of Excel’s tabs.
i) Home: You’ll probably spend most of your time with the Home tab selected. This tab contains the
basic Clipboard commands, formatting commands, style commands, and commands to insert and
delete rows or columns, plus an assortment of worksheet editing commands.
ii) Insert: Select this tab when you need to insert something in a worksheet — a table, a diagram, a
chart, a symbol, and so on.
iii) Page Layout: This tab contains commands that affect the overall appearance of your worksheet,
including some settings that deal with printing.
iv) Formulas: Use this tab to insert a formula, name a cell or a range, access the formula auditing
tools, or control how Excel performs calculations.
v) Data: Excel’s data-related commands are on this tab.
vi) Review: This tab contains tools to check spelling, translate words, add comments, or protect
sheets.

43
 vii) View: The View tab contains commands that control various aspects of how a sheet is viewed.
Some commands on this tab are also available in the status bar.
viii) Developer: This tab isn’t visible by default. It contains commands that are useful for
programmers. To display the Developer tab, choose File ➪ Options and then select Customize
Ribbon. In the Customize the Ribbon section on the right, place a check mark next to Developer
and then click OK.
ix) Add-Ins: This tab is visible only if you loaded an older workbook or add-in that
customizes the menu or toolbars

b) Uses of spread sheets

 Number crunching: Create budgets, analyze survey results, and perform just about
any type of financial analysis you can think of.
 Creating charts: Create a wide variety of highly customizable charts.
 Organizing lists: Use the row-and-column layout to store lists efficiently.
 Accessing other data: Import data from a wide variety of sources.
 Creating graphical dashboards: Summarize a large amount of business
information in a concise format.
 Creating graphics and diagrams: Use Shapes and the new Smart Art to create
professional-looking diagrams.
 Automating complex tasks: Perform a tedious task with a single mouse click with
Excel’s macro capabilities.

c) Preparing worksheet layout

Creating Your First Excel Worksheet
This section presents an introductory hands-on session with Excel. If you haven’t used Excel, you may
want to follow along on your computer to get a feel for how this software works.
In this example, you create a simple monthly sales projection table along with a chart.

Getting started on your worksheet

Start Excel and make sure that you have an empty workbook displayed. To create a new, blank
workbook, press Ctrl+N (the shortcut key for File ➪ New ➪ Blank Workbook ➪ Create).

Step-by-Step.
To Enter Data in a Worksheet1. Point the mouse pointer at the cell (intersection of a row and
column) and click the left mouse button. The cell pointer moves to the cell in which you want to
enter data.
2. Type in the data using the keyboard.
3. Press the Enter key.
Filling in the month names
In this step, you enter the month names in column A.
1. Move the cell pointer to A2 and type Jan (an abbreviation for January). At this point, you
can enter the other month name abbreviations manually, but you can let Excel do some of the work
by taking advantage of the AutoFill feature.
2. Make sure that cell A2 is selected. Notice that the active cell is displayed with a heavy outline.
At the bottom-right corner of the outline, you’ll see a small square known as the fill handle. Move
your mouse pointer over the fill handle, click, and drag down until you’ve highlighted from A2
down to A13.
3. Release the mouse button, and Excel automatically fill in the month names.
Your worksheet should resemble the one shown in Figure 1.16.

44
d) Building worksheet

Entering the sales data

Next, you provide the sales projection numbers in column B. Assume that January’s sales are
projected to be $50,000, and those sales will increase by 3.5 percent in each subsequent month.
1. Move the cell pointer to B2 and type 50000, the projected sales for January. You could
type a dollar sign and comma to make the number more legible, but you do the number
formatting a bit later.
2. To enter a formula to calculate the projected sales for February, move to cell B3 and
enter the following: =B2*103.5%. When you press Enter, the cell displays 51750. The formula
returns the contents of cell B2, multiplied by 103.5%. In other words, February sales are
projected to be 3.5% greater than January sales.
3. The projected sales for subsequent months use a similar formula. But rather than retype
the formula for each cell in column B, once again take advantage of the AutoFill feature. Make
sure that cell B3 is selected. Click the cell’s fill handle, drag down to cell B13, and release the
mouse button.

At this point, your worksheet should resemble the one shown in below. Keep in mind that
except for cell B2, the values in column B are calculated with formulas. To demonstrate, try
changing
the projected sales value for the initial month, January (in cell B2). You’ll find that the formulas
recalculate and return different values. These formulas all depend on the initial value in cell B2,
though.

Your worksheet, after creating the formulas.

e) Manipulating data on worksheet

Formatting the numbers

The values in the worksheet are difficult to read because they aren’t formatted. In this step, you
apply a number format to make the numbers easier to read and more consistent in appearance:
1. Select the numbers by clicking cell B2 and dragging down to cell B13.
2. Choose Home ➪ Number, click the drop-down Number Format control (it initially
displays General), and select Currency from the list. The numbers now display with a
currency symbol and two decimal places. Much better!
Making your worksheet look a bit fancier
At this point, you have a functional worksheet, but it could use some help in the appearance
department. Converting this range to an “official” (and attractive) Excel table is a snap:
1. Move to any cell within the range.

45
 2. Choose Insert ➪ Tables ➪ Table. Excel displays its Create Table dialog box to make
sure that it guessed the range properly.

3. Click OK to close the Create Table dialog box. Excel applies its default table formatting
and also displays its Table Tools ➪ Design contextual tab. Your worksheet should
look like Figure 1.18.
4. If you don’t like the default table style, just select another one from the Table
Tools ➪ Design ➪ Table Styles group. Notice that you can get a preview of different
table styles by moving your mouse over the Ribbon. When you find one you like, click it, and
style will be applied to your table.

Your worksheet, after converting the range to a table.

Editing the contents of a cell

If the cell contains only a few characters, replacing its contents by typing new data usually is
easiest.
However, if the cell contains lengthy text or a complex formula and you need to make only a slight
modification, you probably want to edit the cell rather than re-enter information.
When you want to edit the contents of a cell, you can use one of the following ways to enter cell
edit mode.
 Double-click the cell to edit the cell contents directly in the cell.
 Select the cell and press F2 to edit the cell contents directly in the cell.
 Select the cell that you want to edit and then click inside the Formula bar to edit the cell
contents in the Formula bar.
You can use whichever method you prefer. Some people find editing directly in the cell easier;
others
prefer to use the Formula bar to edit a cell.

Attempt the following tasks:

Add new characters at the location of the insertion point. Move the insertion point by
 Using the navigation keys to move within the cell
 Pressing Home to move the insertion point to the beginning of the cell
 Pressing End to move the insertion point to the end of the cell
 Select multiple characters. Press Shift while you use the navigation keys.
 Select characters while you’re editing a cell. Use the mouse. Just click and drag the mouse
pointer over the characters that you want to select.
To Edit Data in a Worksheet
1. Double-click on the cell that contains the data.
46
 2. Use the left or right arrow key to move the cursor (the vertical blinking line) to the
position of the correction.
3a. If you had left out a character (letter, word or digit) just type it in. The character will be
inserted on the immediate right of the cursor.
3b. If you had typed a wrong character, you can delete it by positioning the cursor on the
left of the character and pressing the Delete key on the keyboard.

Summing the values

The worksheet displays the monthly projected sales, but what about the total projected sales for the
year? Because this range is a table, it’s simple.

1. Activate any cell in the table

2. Choose Table Tools ➪ Design ➪ Table Style Options ➪ Total Row. Excel automatically
adds a new row to the bottom of your table, including a formula that calculated the
total of the Projected Sales column.
3. If you’d prefer to see a different summary formula (for example, average), click cell
B14 and choose a different summary formula from the drop-down list.

f) Data application to cells

Exploring the types of data you can use

An Excel workbook can hold any number of worksheets, and each worksheet is made up of more
than 17 billion cells. A cell can hold any of three basic types of data:
 A numeric value
 Text
 A formula
A worksheet can also hold charts, diagrams, pictures, buttons, and other objects. These objects
aren’t contained in cells. Rather, they reside on the worksheet’s draw layer, which is an invisible
layer on top of each worksheet.

Entering text and values into your worksheets

To enter a numeric value into a cell, move the cell pointer to the appropriate cell, type the value,
and then press Enter or one of the navigation keys. The value is displayed in the cell and also
appears in the Formula bar when the cell is selected. You can include decimal points and currency
symbols when entering values, along with plus signs, minus signs, and commas (to separate
thousands).
Entering text into a cell is just as easy as entering a value: Activate the cell, type the text, and then
press Enter or a navigation key. A cell can contain a maximum of about 32,000 characters —
more than enough to hold a typical chapter in this book. Even though a cell can hold a huge
number of characters, you’ll find that it’s not possible to actually display all these characters.

g) Formulae and function

 A formula can consist of any of these elements:
 l Mathematical operators, such as + (for addition) and * (for
 multiplication)
 l Cell references (including named cells and ranges)
 l Values or text
 Worksheet functions (such as SUM or AVERAGE)
After you enter a formula, the cell displays the calculated result of the formula. The
formula itself appears in the Formula bar when you select the cell, however.
Here are a few examples of formulas:

47
 i) =150*.05 - Multiplies 150 times 0.05. This formula uses only values, and it
always returns the same result. You could just enter the value 7.5 into the cell.

ii) =A1+A2 - Adds the values in cells A1 and A2.

iii) =Income–Expenses - Subtracts the value in the cell named Expenses from the value in
the cell named Income.
iv) =SUM(A1:A12) - Adds the values in the range A1:A12.
v) =A1=C12 - Compares cell A1 with cell C12. If the cells are identical, the formula
returns TRUE; otherwise, it returns FALSE.

h) Charts

Creating a chart
How about a chart that shows the projected sales for each month?
1. Activate any cell in the table.
2. Choose Insert ➪ Charts ➪ Column and then select one of the 2-D column charts
types. Excel inserts the chart in the center of your screen.

Create a Simple Chart.

Charts are used to present data effectively; they make relationships among numbers easy to see
because they turn numbers into shapes that can be compared to one another.
Step-by-Step.
1. Select the range containing the information you want to be represented in chart form.
2. Click on the ChartWizard button and the following dialog box appears.

The ChartWizard button.

In the dialog box you can select the type of chart from the list on
the left and the sub-type on the right. A brief description of the
chart selected appears below the sub-types. This helps you decide
whether the type suits the data you have selected. You may also
view a sample of the chart that will be produced. Click on Next to
proceed to Step 2, and the following dialog box appears.

Keeping the titles in view by freezing panes

If you set up a worksheet with row or column headings, these headings will not be visible when
you scroll down or to the right. Excel provides a handy solution to this problem: freezing panes.

Freezing panes keeps the headings visible while you’re scrolling through the worksheet.
To freeze panes, start by moving the cell pointer to the cell below the row that you want to
remain
visible while you scroll vertically, and to the right of the column that you want to remain visible
while you scroll horizontally. Then, choose View ➪ Window ➪ Freeze Panes and select the
Freeze Panes option from the drop-down list. Excel inserts dark lines to indicate the frozen rows
and columns. The frozen row and column remain visible while you scroll throughout the
worksheet.
To remove the frozen panes, choose View ➪ Window ➪ Freeze Panes, and select the
Unfreeze Panes option from the drop-down list.
Figure 3.8 shows a worksheet with frozen panes. In this case, rows 1:4 and column A are frozen
in
place. This technique allows you to scroll down and to the right to locate some information while
keeping the column titles and the column A entries visible.

The figure below shows a worksheet with frozen panes. In this case, rows 1:4 and column A are
frozen in
48
 place. This technique allows you to scroll down and to the right to locate some information while
keeping the column titles and the column A entries visible.

KAIBOI TECHNICAL TRAINING INSTITUTE

DAY MONDAY TUESDAY

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The vast majority of the time, you’ll want to freeze either the first row or the first column. The
View ➪ Window ➪ Freeze Panes drop-down list has two additional options: Freeze Top Row and
Freeze First Column. Using these commands eliminates the need to position the cell pointer before
freezing panes.

Inserting rows and columns

Although the number of rows and columns in a worksheet is fixed, you can still insert and delete
rows and columns if you need to make room for additional information. These operations don’t
change the number of rows or columns. Rather, inserting a new row moves down the other rows to
accommodate the new row. The last row is simply removed from the worksheet if it’s empty.
Inserting a new column shifts the columns to the right, and the last column is removed if it’s empty.

To insert a new row or rows, you can use any of these techniques:
 Select an entire row or multiple rows by clicking the row numbers in the worksheet border.
 Right-click and choose Insert from the shortcut menu.
 Move the cell pointer to the row that you want to insert and then choose Home ➪Cells ➪
Insert ➪ Insert Sheet Rows.
50
 If you select multiple cells in the column, Excel inserts additional rows that correspond to the
number of cells selected in the column and moves the rows below the insertion down.

Deleting rows and columns

You may also want to delete rows or columns in a worksheet. For example, your sheet may contain
old data that is no longer needed.
To delete a row or rows, use either of these methods:
 Select an entire row or multiple rows by clicking the row numbers in the worksheet border.
 Right-click and choose Delete from the shortcut menu.
 Move the cell pointer to the row that you want to delete and then choose Home ➪
 Cells ➪ Delete Sheet Rows. If you select multiple cells in the column, Excel deletes all
rows in the selection.
Deleting columns works in a similar way. If you discover that you accidentally deleted a row or
column, select Undo from the Quick Access toolbar (or press Ctrl+Z) to undo the action.

Hiding rows and columns

In some cases, you may want to hide particular rows or columns. Hiding rows and columns may
be useful if you don’t want users to see particular information, or if you need to print a report that
summarizes the information in the worksheet without showing all the details.

Changing column widths and row heights

Often, you’ll want to change the width of a column or the height of a row. For example, you can
make columns narrower to accommodate more information on a printed page. Or you may want
to increase row height to create a “double-spaced” effect.
Excel provides several different ways to change the widths of columns and the height of rows.
Changing column widths
Column width is measured in terms of the number of characters of a fixed pitch font that will fit
into
the cell’s width. By default, each column’s width is 8.43 units, which equates to 64 pixels (px).

Creating a Table
Most of the time, you’ll create a table from an existing range of data. However, Excel also allows
you to create a table from an empty range so that you can fill in the details later. The following
instructions assume that you already have a range of data that’s suitable for a table.
1. Make sure that the range doesn’t contain any completely blank rows or columns;
otherwise, Excel will not guess the table range correctly.
2. Select any cell within the range.
3. Choose Insert ➪ Tables ➪ Table (or press Ctrl+T). Excel responds with its Create
Table dialog box, shown in Figure 5.4. Excel tries to guess the range as well as whether
the table has a header row. Most of the time, it guesses correctly. If not, make your corrections
before you click OK.

Selecting parts of a table

When you move your mouse around in a table, you may notice that the pointer changes shapes.
These shapes help you select various parts of the table.
 To select an entire column: Move the mouse to the top of a cell in the header row, and the
mouse pointer changes to a down-pointing arrow. Click to select the data in the column.
Click a second time to select the entire table column (including the Header Row and the
Total Row, if it has one). You can also press Ctrl+spacebar (once or twice) to select a
column.
 To select an entire row: Move the mouse to the left of a cell in the first column, and the
mouse pointer changes to a right-pointing arrow. Click to select the entire table row. You
can also press Shift+spacebar to select a table row.
 To select the entire table: Move the mouse to the upper-left part of the upper-left cell.

51
 When the mouse pointer turns into a diagonal arrow, click to select the data area of the
table. Click a second time to select the entire table (including the Header Row and the Total
Row). You can also press Ctrl+A (once or twice) to select the entire table.

Adding new rows or columns

To add a new column to the end of a table, select a cell in the column to the right of the table and
start entering the data. Excel automatically extends the table horizontally.
 To add rows or columns within the table, right-click and choose Insert from the shortcut
menu.
 The Insert shortcut menu command displays additional menu items:
 Table Columns to the Left
 Table Columns to the Right
 Table Rows Above
 Table Rows Below

Deleting rows or columns

To delete a row (or column) in a table, select any cell in the row (or column) to be deleted. To
delete multiple rows or columns, select a range of cells. Then right-click and choose Delete ➪
Table Rows (or Delete ➪ Table Columns).

Moving a table
To move a table to a new location in the same worksheet, move the mouse pointer to any of its
borders. When the mouse pointer turns into a cross with four arrows, click and drag the table to
its new location.
To move a table to a different worksheet (which could be in a different workbook), you can drag
and drop it as well — as long as the destination worksheet is visible onscreen.

Sorting and filtering a table

The Header Row of a table contains a drop-down arrow that, when clicked, displays sorting and
filtering options
Sorting a table
Sorting a table rearranges the rows based on the contents of a particular column. You may want to
sort a table to put names in alphabetical order. Or, maybe you want to sort your sales staff by the
totals sales made.
To sort a table by a particular column, click the drop-down in the column header and choose one of
the sort commands. The exact command varies, depending on the type of data in the column.
You can also select Sort by Color to sort the rows based on the background or text color of the
data.
This option is relevant only if you’ve overridden the table style colors with custom formatting.
You can sort on any number of columns. The trick is to sort the least significant column first and
then proceed until the most significant column is sorted lasted. For example, in the real estate
table, you may want to sort the list by agent. And within each agent’s group, sort the rows by area.
And within each area, sort the rows by list price. For this type of sort, first sort by the List Price
column, then sort by the Area column, and then sort by the Agent column.

Filtering a table
Filtering a table refers to displaying only the rows that meet certain conditions. (The other rows
are
hidden.)
Using the real estate table, assume that you’re only interested in the data for the N. County area.
Click the drop-down arrow in the Area Row Header and remove the check mark from Select All,
which unselects everything. Then, place a check mark next to N. County and click OK. The table,
shown in Figure 5.12, is now filtered to display only the listings in the N. County area. Notice that
some of the row numbers are missing; these rows contain the filtered (hidden) data.

52
 Also notice that the drop-down arrow in the Area column now shows a different graphic — an icon
that indicates the column is filtered.

FORMATING WORKSHEET

The Excel formatting tools are available in three locations:

 On the Home tab of the Ribbon

The Home tab of the Ribbon provides quick access to the most commonly used formatting options.
Start by selecting the cell or range; then use the appropriate tool in the Font, Alignment, or
Number groups.
Using these tools is very intuitive, and the best way to familiarize yourself with them is to
experiment.
Enter some data, select some cells, and then click the controls to change the appearance.
Note that some of these controls are actually drop-down lists. Click the small arrow on the button,
and the button expands to display your choices.

 On the Mini toolbar that appears when you right-click a range or a cell

When you right-click a cell or a range selection, you get a shortcut menu. In addition, the Mini
toolbar appears above the shortcut menu.
 l From the Format Cells dialog box
The formatting controls available on the Home tab of the Ribbon are sufficient most of the time,
but some types of formatting require that you use the Format Cells dialog box. This tabbed dialog
box lets you apply nearly any type of stylistic formatting, as well as number formatting. The
formats
that you choose in the Format Cells dialog box apply to the cells that you have selected at the
time. Later sections in this chapter cover the tabs of the Format Cells dialog box.
In addition, many common formatting commands have keyboard shortcuts that you can use.

Format numbers in a worksheet.

Plain numbers on a worksheet will do the job of presenting figures, but additional formatting can
make your worksheet much more presentable.
There are many ways in which you can be able to format the numbers in your worksheet for better
readability.
For example, when you have too many uneven decimal places in a worksheet, it makes it difficult
to compare figures. Again, long numbers without commas are difficult to read.
You can format the numbers in a cell by using the Currency Style, Percent Style, and Comma Style
buttons on the toolbar. Each of these styles has a default number of decimal points that you can
change with the Increase Decimal and Decrease Decimal buttons.
Step-by-Step.
1. Select the range containing the numbers whose format you want to change.
2. Click on the Comma Style button. All numbers in the selected range are displayed with
commas separating thousands and with two decimal points e.g. 7,375.00.
The Comma Style button.
3. To add the number of decimal places, click on the Increase Decimal button. In the same way, to
remove the number of decimal places, click the Decrease Decimal button.
4. If you want the range to be formatted as percentages, click on the Percent Style button.
The Percent Style button
5. To format a range as currency, click on the Currency Style button.
The Currency Style button
Insert a formula in a worksheet.
When you need to perform a calculation in Excel, you use a formula. You can create simple
formulas that can be used to say, add the values in two cells, or you can create complex formulas
that can calculate the
standard deviation of certain values.
53
The automatic recalculation feature is best appreciated when formulas have been incorporated in a
worksheet.
Step by Step.
1. Before you write your formula in Excel, it is best to do the following away from the computer
first:
i) Decide what you want calculated e.g. the Total Cost of items.
ii) Note down the values in the worksheet required for the calculation and use these to write
down the formula e.g. Quantity*Price.
iii) Substitute these values with their cell references e.g. B3*D3
2. Select the cell where the result of the formula will be displayed.
3. To tell Microsoft Excel that you are entering a formula in a cell, you must begin with the equal
sign (=).
Note: You can also type +, -, or @ to begin a formula, Microsoft
Excel will convert these into an equal sign.
A simple formula like adding, subtracting or dividing cells requires at least one cell reference.
4. When you create formulas that perform calculations, or when you use formulas that generate
information from your data, you need to tell Microsoft Excel where to find the data. To do this,
you either type a cell reference or a range name.
Example.
1. Suppose you want to calculate the cost of milk using the values shown in the worksheet below:
A B C D
1 Item Quantity Price Cost
2 Milk 268 6 15.50
3 Sugar 190 7 48.90
2. The cost of milk depends on the quantity and the price and is calculated by the formula Quantity
* Price gives us the cost. (The asterisk (*) is used as the multiplication sign.)
3. The cell references for Quantity and Price are B2 and C2 respectively, hence we write B2*C2.
4. In cell D2 we type the formula =B2*C2.
If you omit the ‘=’ symbol before B2, Excel will not recognize it as a formula and what you have
typed will literally appear as ‘B2*C2’ which will not yield the expected result.
5. Press the Enter key. Excel immediately calculates and shows the result in the cell, while the
formula is displayed on the Formula bar.

Copy formulas in a worksheet.

You can copy (or fill) formulas into a range of cells. Generally this reduces the time and effort
taken to insert similar formulas in other cells -especially in a large worksheet.
For instance, in the previous example, the formula to calculate the cost of sugar is similar to the
formula for milk, therefore, all that is needed is to replicate the same formula into the other cells.
Step-by-Step.
1. Select the cell that has the formula you want to copy to other cells.
2. Drag the fill handle up to the last cell in the range (which you want to copy the same formula to)
and release the mouse button.
OR
1. Select the range starting with the cell that has the formula.
2. From the Edit menu, the Fill submenu has Up, Down, Left and Right as some of the options.
Select one of these as appropriate.
Relative Referencing
1. A relative reference describes the location of a cell in terms of its distance, in rows and columns,
from another cell.
Relative references are like giving directions, such as 'one street over and two houses down."
2. When you enter a formula like =B2*C2 in cell D2 of your worksheet, the formula in cell D2
multiplies the value in cell B2 and the value in cell C2. (=B2*C2)
3. Because B2 and C2 are relative references, the formula in D2 is actually multiplying the cell two
steps to the left of D2 times the cell one step to the left of D2.
If you copy that formula to D3, the formula will subtract cell two steps to the left of D3 minus the
cell one step to the left of D3.
54
~ References that change automatically when you copy them are called relative references.
~ When you copy a formula containing relative references, the references are adjusted to reflect the
new location of the formula.

Use AutoFill to enter a series.

You can enter a series of data, either numbers or text, into several cells by using AutoFill. This can
save time involved in typing common series like days of the week, months of the year and
numbers that follow a pattern or series like 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 etc.
To enter a set series, such as months of the year, or days of the week, you can type the first item in
the series without typing anything else. For example, if you want to enter the days of the week into
a row, you simply type ‘Monday’ in the first cell and then use AutoFill to fill in the rest.
To enter a series of numbers, you must type the first two numbers of the series, and then use
AutoFill to enter the rest of the series.
For example, if you want to enter the series 10,15,20,25,30 etc., you can type ‘10’ into the first
cell, and ‘15’ in the second cell, and then use AutoFill to quickly fill in the rest.
Step-by-Step.
1. Type in the first text item in the series or the first two numbers of the series.
2. Select the cell(s) containing the information and then move the mouse pointer to the bottom
right corner of the cell until the pointer changes to a solid plus sign.
3. Drag the AutoFill handle across the cells in which you want to fill the rest of the series.
Note:
When you copy a formula using this method Excel indicates to you what will be entered into the
cell even before you release the mouse.
Tip:
You can enter month or day names either in full (January) or in short (Jan) form.
When you fill the series into the other cells, the rest of the series will either be in full (February) or
short (Feb) form as well.

2.6. Adjust column width.

Occasionally, your data will not fit within the standard column width. This happens especially
when you are working with long labels, or large font sizes, or with data that has been formatted as
currency.
When a cell entry exceeds the width of the cell and overflows into the next column preventing you
from you seeing the other cell contents, this is known as ‘overflow’.
Step-by-Step.
1. Position the mouse pointer at the right border between column headers so that the pointer
changes to a two-headed arrow.
2. Double click. This will adjust the column width to fit the widest data in the column. This is
known as the “Best Fit” method.
3. You can also change the column width to any size you want by dragging the column header
border to the desired width.

2.7. Insert and delete rows and columns.

1. You can insert a row or column, to make room for additional information in the worksheet. This
may be necessary when some extra information, which was not anticipated earlier, needs to be
included.
For example, in a worksheet detailing different expense items and expenditure, you may have
omitted ‘Transport’. You can insert a row in the worksheet in which the item ‘Transport’ and its
corresponding
expenditure can be added.
2. You can also delete the contents of a row or column to clear the information contained in them.
Step-by-Step.
55
1. When you insert a column or row, you need to select the column or row immediately to the right
or below where you want the new column or row to appear.
For example, to insert a new column between columns A and B, click the column header for
column B.
To insert a row between rows 9 and 10, click row header for row 10.
Inserting a column between column A and B:
Step 1 Double-click or drag
2. From the Insert menu, choose Rows or Columns depending on what action you were taking.
To insert or delete several rows or columns at the same time
1. Select the number of rows or columns you want to insert or delete using the left mouse button in
combination with the Shift key.
2. From the Insert menu, choose Rows or Columns to insert the selected number of rows or
columns.
OR
2. Click on the Edit menu and choose Rows or Columns to delete the selected number of rows or
columns.
2.8. Use Shortcut menus in Excel.
A shortcut menu is a menu that appears when you click on the right mouse button while pointing
to any of several areas on screen. You can display shortcut menus from cells, columns, rows, or
even buttons,
charts, or toolbars.
Microsoft Excel has several shortcut menus that you can use when you click with your right mouse
button over different areas of the screen.
You see one menu when you click on a cell, another when you click over the toolbars and another
when you click over the title bar of your window.
These shortcut menus enable one to access commands quickly.
Step-by-Step.
1. Position your mouse pointer on the appropriate position on the screen.
2. Click the right mouse button. A shortcut menu appears, listing the commands that you can be
able to perform for the selected cell.
3. Click another cell outside of the shortcut menu. The shortcut menu closes.
Example.
1. To use a shortcut menu to insert a column between column A and B, position your mouse
pointer on the column header B.
2. Click on the right mouse button. This produces the following shortcut menu, from which you
would select Insert.

Choosing vertical alignment options

Vertical alignment options typically aren’t used as often as the horizontal alignment options. In
fact, these settings are useful only if you’ve adjusted row heights so that they’re considerably taller
than normal.
Vertical alignment options available in the Format Cells dialog box are
Top: Aligns the cell contents to the top of the cell. Also available on the Ribbon.
Center: Centers the cell contents vertically in the cell. Also available on the Ribbon.
Bottom: Aligns the cell contents to the bottom of the cell. Also available on the Ribbon.
Justify: Justifies the text vertically in the cell; this option is applicable only if the cell is formatted
as wrapped text and uses more than one line. This setting can be used to increase the line spacing.
Distributed: Distributes the text evenly vertically in the cell. This setting seems to have the same
effect as Justify.
Wrapping or shrinking text to fit the cell
If you have text too wide to fit the column width but don’t want that text to spill over into adjacent
cells, you can use either the Wrap Text option or the Shrink to Fit option to accommodate that
text. The Wrap Text control is also available on the Ribbon.
The Wrap Text option displays the text on multiple lines in the cell, if necessary. Use this option to
display lengthy headings without having to make the columns too wide, and without reducing the
size of the text.
56
 The Shrink to Fit option reduces the size of the text so that it fits into the cell without spilling over
to the next cell. Usually, it’s easier to make this adjustment manually.

1. Move to cell A2.

2. Type Text too long to fit.
3. Press Enter.

4. Return to cell A2.

5. Choose the Home tab.
6. Click the Wrap Text button . Excel wraps the text in the cell.

Merging worksheet cells to create

additional text space

You can merge any number of cells occupying any number of rows and columns. In fact, you can
merge all 17,179,869,184 cells in a worksheet into a single cell — although I can’t think of any
good reason to do so, except maybe to play a trick on a co-worker.
The range that you intend to merge should be empty, except for the upper-left cell. If any of the
other cells that you intend to merge are not empty, Excel displays a warning. If you continue, all
the data (except in the upper-left cell) will be deleted. To avoid deleting data, click Cancel in
response to the warning.
The Home ➪ Alignment ➪ Merge & Center control contains a drop-down list with these
additional
options:
Merge Across: When a multirow range is selected, this command creates multiple merged
cells — one for each row.
Merge Cells: Merges the selected cells without applying the Center attribute.
Unmerge Cells: Unmerges the selected cells.

Displaying text at an angle

In some cases, you may want to create more visual impact by displaying text at an angle within a
cell. You can display text , vertically, or at an angle between 90 degrees up and 90
degrees down.

Adding Borders and Lines

Borders (and lines within the borders) are another visual enhancement that you can add around
57
 groups of cells. Borders are often used to group a range of similar cells or to delineate rows or
columns.
Excel offers 13 preset styles of borders, as you can see in the Home ➪ Font ➪ Borders dropdown.
This control works with the selected cell or range and enables you to specify which, if any, border
style to use for each border of the selection.

Printing your worksheet

Printing your worksheet is very easy (assuming that you have a printer attached and that it works
properly).
1. Make sure that the chart isn’t selected. If a chart is selected, it will print on a page by itself.
To deselect the chart, just press Esc or click any cell.
2. To make use of Excel’s handy page layout view, click the Page Layout View button
on the right side of the status bar. Excel then displays the worksheet page by page so that you
can easily see how your printed output will look. In Page Layout view, you can tell immediately
whether the chart is too wide to fit on one page. If the chart is too wide, click and drag a corner to
resize it. Or, you can just move the chart below the table of numbers.

3. When you’re ready to print, choose File ➪ Print.

At this point, you can change some print settings. For example, you can choose to print in
landscape rather than portrait orientation. Make the change, and you see the result in the preview
window. When you’re satisfied, click the Print button in the upper-left corner.
The page is printed, and you’re returned to your workbook.
Saving your workbook
Until now, everything that you’ve done has occurred in your computer’s memory. If the power
should fail, all may be lost — unless Excel’s Auto Recover feature happened to kick in. It’s time to
save your work to a file on your hard drive.
1. Click the Save button on the Quick Access toolbar. (This button looks like an old fashioned
floppy disk, popular in the previous century.) Because the workbook hasn’t been saved yet and still
has its default name, Excel responds with the Save As dialog box.
2. In the box labeled File Name, enter a name (such as Monthly Sales Projection), and
then click Save or press Enter. Excel saves the workbook as a file. The workbook remains open
so that you can work with it some more.

DESKTOP PUBLISHING
a) Functions of DP
b) Tools used
c) Manipulations
d) Enhancement of typeset work
e) Printing of documents
PRESENTATION PACKAGES
a) Types of presentation packages
b) Creating slides
c) Formatting slides
d) Running slides
e) Editing objects
f) Printing slides and handouts

DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DBMS)

A database management system (DBMS) is a collection of programs that enables one to store modify and
extract information form a database.
This is a software system that enables users to define, create, maintain and control access to database. This
is in contrast to filed-based system;- which is a collection of application programs that perform services
for the end user e.g. reports. Each program defines and manages its own data e.g. – bursar –student name,
no, fees payable, paid, balance or Library- student name, no, book borrowed, date of return.
58
a) Meaning of database
Database is a shared collection of logically related data and a description of this data designed to meet the
information needs of an organization
Examples of application of database
ATM card, mobile phone, Super-market, Library, School Management Information System

TERMINOLOGIES
i Entity
-Is an object that exists and is distinguishable from other objects.
o Example: specific person, company, event, plant, student, book
ii Attribute
-Refers to the property of an entity, i.e. entities have attributes e.g. name, reg no, book no, title
iii Schema
The structure of a database is called a schema (tables, property of tables, relationships –names
iv Relationship
-Refers to the association between entities e.g. borrows, returns
v Relation
-Is a table with columns and rows
vi Tupule
-Is a row of a relation
vii Domain
-is the set of allowable values for one or more attributes
viii View
- A view is named relation corresponding to an entity in conceptual schema, whose tuples are physically
stored in database. Contents of a view are defined as a query on one or more base relations.
b) Database design
Database design has the following conceptual steps
1) Build local conceptual data model for each user view
2) Build and validate local data model for each user view
3) Build and validate global logical data model
4) Translate global data model for targets DBMS
5) Design physical representation
6) Design security mechanism
7) Monitor and tune the operational system
CHARACTERISTICS OF DBMS
c) Data manipulation
- Data is arranged in columns (fields) and rows (records)
- Each column has similar items or entries
- Each row contains information pertaining (belonging) to the single individual
d) Data sorting and indexing
This involves arranging the records into a predefined sequence or way and this requires one to
identify certain fields to be key fields so as to sort either in ascending/descending order or
alphabetically.
e) Data retrieval/searching
This involves the ability to extract information from a database- either entire content, specific
record or a set of records.

DATABASE ELEMENTS
 A database consists of four elements as given,
i) Data
ii) Relationships
iii) Constraints
iv) Schema
Data items

Data base Relationships 59

 Constraints

Schema
i) Data
 Data are binary computer representations of stored logical entities.
 Software is divided into two general categories-data and programs.
 A program is a collection of instruction for manipulating data.
 Data exist is various forms- as numbers or texts on pieces of paper, as bits and bytes stored
in electronic memory or as facts stored in a person’s mind.
ii) Relationships
Relationships explain the correspondence between various data elements.
iii) Constraints
 Are predicates that define correct database states.
iv) Schema
 Schema describes the organization of data and relationships within the database.
 Schema defines various views of the database for the use of various system components of
the database management system and for the application’s security.
 A schema separates physical aspects of data storage form the logical aspects of data
representation.
Types of schema
a) Internal schema: defines how and where the data are organized in physical data storage.
b) Conceptual schema: defines the stored data structures in terms of the database model used.
c) External schema: defines a view (or) views of the database for particular uses.
 In database management systems data files are the files that store the database information
whereas offer files, such as index files and data dictionaries, store administrative information
known as metadata (data about data).
 Data base are organized by fields, records and files.
i) Fields: is a single piece of information.
ii) Record: is one complete set of fields.
iii) File: is a collection of records.
Advantage of Data in database
 Database system provides the organization with centralized control of its data
1) Redundancy can be reduced:
 In non-database systems, each application (or) department has its own private file
resulting in considerable amount of redundancy (or) the stored data. Thus storage space is
wasted. By having centralized database most of this can be avoided

2) Inconsistency can be avoided:

 When the same data is duplicated and changes are made at one site, which is not
propagated to the other sites, it gives rise to inconsistency.
 If the redundancy is removed chances of having inconsistent data is removed.
3) Data can be saved:
 The existing application can save the data in a database.
4) Standards can be enforced:
 With the central control of the database, the database administrator can
Enforce standards.
5) Integrity can be maintained
 Integrity means that the data in the database is accurate. Centralized control of the date
helps in permitting to define integrity constraints to the data in the database.
Characteristics of Data in a Database
The data in a database should have the following features:
60
1. Shared – Data in a database are shamed among different users and applications.
2. Persistence – Data in a database exist permanently in the sense the data can live beyond the scope
of the process that created it.
3. Validity / Integrity / Correctness – Data should be correct with Respect to the real world’s entity
that they represent.
4. Security – Data should be protected from unauthorized access.
5. Consistency- whenever more than are database represents related real – world values, the values
should be consistent with respect to the relationship.
6. Non –redundancy – No two data items in a database should represent the same real world entity.
7. Independence – The three levels in the schema (internal, conceptual and external) should be
independent of each other so that the changes in the schema at one level should not affect the other
levels.
The following are the examples of database application
1. Computerized library systems
2. Automated teller machines
3. Flight reservation systems
4. Computerized parts inventory systems.

Components of a DBMS
Data Catalog
Application
Management
Transaction
Management
Concurrency Control

Recovery Management

Security Management

Language Interface

Database Data Access

Storage Management
Functions of DBMS
i) Transaction Management
A transaction is a sequence of database operations that represents a logical unit of work and
that accesses a database and transforms it from one state to another.
A transition can update a record, delete (or) modify a set of records etc.
ii) Concurrency control
Concurrency control is the database management activity of co-coordinating the actions of
database manipulating process that separate concurrently that access shared data and can
potentially interfere with one another.
iii) Recovery Management
The recovery management system in a database ensures that the aborted or failed
transactions create non adverse effect on the database or the other transitions.
iv) Security Management

61
 Security refers to the protection of data against unauthorized access. Security mechanism
of a DBMS makes sure that only authorized users are given access to the data in the database
v) Language Interface
The DBMS provides support languages used for the definition and manipulation of data in
the database. The data structures are created using the data definition language commands. The
data manipulation is done using the data manipulation commands.

vi) Storage Management

The DBMS provides a mechanism for management of permanent storage of the data. The
internal schema defines how the data should be stored by the storage management mechanism and
this storage manager interface with the operating system to access the physical storage.
vii) Data Catalog Management
Data catalog or Data Dictionary is a system database that contains descriptions of the data
in the database (metadata). If contains information about data, relationships, constraints and the
entire schema that organize these features in to a unified database.
Transaction Management
 A transaction is a collection of operations that performs a single logical function in a database
application.
 Each transaction is a unit of both atomicity and consistency. Thus, we require that transactions do
not violate any database consistency constraints.
 That is, if the database was consistent when a transaction started, the database must be consistent
when the transaction successfully terminates.
 However, during the execution of a transaction, it may be necessary temporarily to allow
inconsistency. This temporary inconsistency, although necessary, may lead to difficulty if a failure
occurs.
 It is the responsibility of the programmer to define properly the various transactions, such that each
preserves the consistency of the database.
 For example, the transaction to transfer funds from account A to account B could be defined to be
composed of two separate programmes; one that debits account A, and another that credits account
B.
 The execution of these two programs one after the other will indeed preserve consistency.
 However, each program by itself does not transform the database from a consistent state to a new
consistent state.
 Thus, those programs are not transactions.
Storage Management
 Databases typically require a large amount of storage space.
 Corporate data bases are usually measured in terms of gigabytes or, for the largest
databases, terabytes of data.
 A gigabyte is 1000 megabytes (1 billion bytes), and a terabyte is 1 million megabytes (1
trillion bytes).
 Since the main memory of computers cannot store this much information, the information
is stored on disks. Data are moved between disk storage and main memory as needed.
 Since the movement of data to and from disk is slow relative to the speed of the central
processing unit, it is imperative that the database system structure the data so as to minimize the
need to move data between disk and main memory.
 The goal of a database system is to simplify and facilitate access to data.
 High – level views help to achieve this goal.
 A storage manager is a program module that provides the interface between the low-level
data stored in the database and the application programs and queries submitted to the system.
 The storage manager is responsible for the interaction with the file manager.
 The raw data are stored on the disk using the file system, which is usually provided by a
conventional operation system.
 The storage manager translates the various DML statements into low-level file-system
commands.
 Thus, the storage manager is responsible for storing, retrieving, and updating of data in the
database.
62
 Database Administrator
 One of the main reasons for using DBMSs is to have central control of both the data and the
programs that access those data.
 The person who has such central control over the system is called the database administrator
(DBA).
The functions of the DBA include the following:
 Schema definition. The DBA creates the original database schema by writing a set of definitions
that is translated by the DDL compiler to a set of tables that is stored permanently in the data
dictionary.
 Storage structure and access-method definition. The DBA creates appropriate storage
structures and access methods by writing a set of definitions, which is translated by the data-
storage and data-definition-language compiler.
 Schema and physical-organization modification. Programmers accomplish the relatively rare
modifications either to the data base schema or to the description of the physical storage
organization by writing a set of definitions that is used by either the DDL compiler or the data
storage and data – definition-language compiler to generate modifications to the appropriate
internal system tables (for example, the data dictionary).
 Granting of authorization for data access. The granting of different types of authorization
allows the database administrator to regulate which parts of the database various users can access.
 The authorization information is kept in a special system structure that is consulted by the database
system whenever access to the data is attempted in the system.
 Integrity-constraint specification. The data values stored in the database must satisfy certain
consistency constraints.
 For example, perhaps the number of hours an employee may work in 1 week may not exceed a
specified limit (say, 80 hours).
 Such a constraint must be specified explicitly by the database administrator.
 The integrity constraints are kept in a special system structure that is consulted by the database
system whenever an update takes place in the system.
Database Uses
 Are computer professionals who interact with the system through DML calls, which are
embedded in a program, written in a host language (for example, COBOL, PL/I, Pascal, C).
 These programs are commonly referred to as application programs.
 The DNL syntax is usually markedly different from the host language syntax, DML calls
are usually prefaced by a special character so that the appropriate code can be generated.
 A special preprocessor called the DML precompiled, converts the DNL statements to
normal procedure calls in the host language.
 The resulting program is then run through the host-language compiler, which generates
appropriate object code.
 There are special types of programming languages that combine control structures of
Pascal-like languages with control structures for the manipulation of a database object (for
example, relations).
 These languages, sometimes called fourth-generation of forms and the display of data on
the screen.
 Most major commercial database systems include a fourth-generation language.

Components of a DBMS Environment

1) Hardware
This ranges from PC to network of computers entailing communication & networking h/w and
data capture h/w

2) Software
These include;
i) DBMS- DBMS back end is the server to control access and DBMS front end
are the clients
ii) Operating System
63
 iii) Network software
iv) Data capture s/w
v) Application s/w
3) Data
i) Operational data
j) Metadata – data about data bridging machine components and human components
4) Procedures
i) Instructions and rules applied to design & use the db and DBMS
ii) Instructions to log on the DBMS
iii) Use of particular facilities
iv) Start and stop DBMS
v) Handling h/w & s/w failures
5) People/Users
i) Data Administrator (DA)
ii) Database Administrator (DBA)
iii) Db designer (DD)
iv) Application Programmer (AP)
v) End users (naive and sophisticated)
vi) Application Developers (AD)

Database Development Life Cycle

i) Database planning vi) Application design
ii) System definition vii) Prototyping
iii) Requirements collection and viii) Implementation
analysis ix) Data conversion and loading
iv) Database design x) Testing
v) DBMS selection xi) Operation & maintenance
Data Modeling
 The two main purposes of data modeling are,
i) To assist in the understanding of the meaning (or) semantic of the data.
ii) To facilitate communication about the information requirements.
 A data model makes it easier to understand the meaning of the data and thus we model data to
ensure that we understand:
i) Each user’s perspective of the data
ii) The nature of the data itself, independent of its physical representations.
iii) The use of data across application areas.
An optimal data model should satisfy the criteria listed below:
i) Structural validity – consistency with the way the organization defines and organizes
information.
ii) Simplicity – Ease of understanding by information system professionals and non-technical
users.
iii) Expansibility – Ability to distinguish between different data, relationships between data
and constraints.
iv) Non-redundancy-Exclusion of extraneous information,
v) Sharability-Not specific to any particular application or technology and thereby usable by
many.
vi) Extensibility – Ability to evolve to support new requirements with minimal effect on
existing users.
vii) Integrity – consistency with the way the organization uses and manages information.
 Four database model:
i) Hierarchical Model iv) Object – oriented.
ii) Network model v) Object relational model
iii) Relational model vi) Deductive

64
 / Inference Model

Comparison between the Database Models

Model Data Element Relationship Identity Access
Organization Organization Language
Hierarchical Files, Records Logical Proximity in a Record Procedural
Linearized tree based

Network Files, Records Intersecting Networks Record Procedural

based
Relational Tables Identifiers of rows in one Value based Non-
table are embedded as Procedural
attribute values in another
table

Object- Objects Logical Containment – Record Procedural

Oriented Related objects are found based
within a given object by
recursively examining
attributes of an object that
are themselves objects
Object- Object- Relational extenders that Value based Non-
Relational Infrastructure to support specialized Procedural
the database applications such as image
system itself- retrieval, advanced text
user-defined searching and geographic
data types applications.
functions, and
rules
Deductive Facts, Rules Inference rules that permit Value based Non-
related facts to be generated Procedural
on demand

i) Hierarchical Model:
It uses a structure in which records are divided into segments. A record contains one root
segment (which also becomes a key) and a variable number of subordinate segments that
define a field within a record.
Hierarchical Model is one of the oldest database model, dating from late 1950s. First
Hierarchical database model – was Information Management system (IMS). IMS become the
world’s leaching mainframe hierarchical database system in the 1970’s and early 1980’s.
The hierarchical model represents relationships with the notion of logical adjacency or more
accurately with ‘logical proximity’ in a linearized tree.
Advantages:
i) Simplicity: The relationship b/w the various layers are logically simple. Thus the
design of a hierarchical database is simple.
ii) Data security: Hierarchical model was the first database model that offered the data
security that is provided and enforced by the DBMS.
iii) Data Integrity: Since the hierarchical model is based on the parent /child relationship,
there is always a link between the parents segment and the child segments under it.
iv) Efficiency – The hierarchical database model is a very efficient one when the database
contains a large number of 1: n relationships.
Disadvantage:
i) Implementation Complexity
 Even though it is simple and Easy to design it is quite complex to implement. The
database designers should have very good knowledge of the physical date storage
characteristics.

ii) Database Management problems:

If we make any change in the database then we should make the necessary changes in
all application programs that access the database.

iii) Lack of structural independence:

Hierarchical database systems use physical storage paths to navigate to the different
data segments. So the application programmer should have a good knowledge of the relevant
access paths to access the data. So if the physical structure is changed the applications will
also have to be modified.

2. Network Model (online database)

 This approach use a ‘linked’ structure. It combines records with links which are technically
called pointers. The pointers physically establish the relationships between records.
 The Network model replaces the hierarchical tree with a graph this allowing more general
connections among the modes.
 The main difference of the network model from the hierarchical model is its ability to handle
many-to many (n: n) relationship.
 In n/w database terminology, a relationship is a set, Each set is made of at least two types of
records: an owner record (parent) and a member record (child).

Advantages:
i) Conceptual simplicity: It is simple and easy to design.
ii) Capability to handle more relationship types. If can handle the one-to-many (I:
n) and many to many (n: n) relationship.
iii) Ease of data access: The data access is easier than and flexible than in the
hierarchical model.
iv) Data independence – the network model is easy to isolating the programs from
the complex physical storage details.
v) Data integrity. The network model does not allow a member to exist without an
owner
Disadvantages:
i) System complexity
ii) Absence of structural independence.

3. Relation model:
 Relational model stores the data is the form of a table.
 A single database can be spread across several tables.
 A relational model uses tables to organize data elements.
 Each table corresponds to an application entity and each row represents an instance of that
entity.
Advantage:
i) Structural independence:
The relational model does not depend on the navigational data access system thus
freeing the database designers, programmers and uses form learning the details about the data
storage.
ii) Conceptual simplicity:
Since the relational data model free the designer from the physical data storage details,
the designer can concentrate on the logical view of the database.
iii) Design, implementation, maintenance and usage ease – It is easier than other two models.

Disadvantages:
i) Hardware over heads:
 Relational database systems hide the implementation complexities and the physical data
storage details from the users.
ii) Ease of design can lead to bad design:
 It is easy to design; the users need not know the complex details of physical data storage.
EXAMPLE
NB;
i) A record is a set of entire data items in a row. A single record represents a horizontal row in a table
ii) Field – a set of entire similar data items in a column e.g. individual names, sex, adm no, marks

ADMIN SE CA EXAM TOTA ATTENDAN

NO NAME X T S L CE
4818 Julius M 17 46 63 85
4490 Elijah M 20 55 75 95
4826 Nickson M 14 37 51 90
4821 James M 24 53 77 85
4853 Naum F 20 50 70 91
4833 Stellah F 22 45 67 96

iii) Field types- specify the way specific data items are stored. MS Access support up to 10
different field types e.g. text, memo, number, date/time, currency, Y/N, OLE object, auto-
number, look-up, hyperlink.
Type
Auto-number A number is automatically incrementally &
never changes again
Currency A numeric field automatically assigned with a
currency sign e.g. £
Date/Time A date or time data type & can change
appearance of each from general type
Text Any character not needed for calculation
Number Any figure needed for calculation
Yes/No A logical field that needs yes or no
Memo A whole sentence e.g. comments/remarks
OLE object Any linked object e.g. picture
Hyperlink Stores data that are internet address e.g.
[email protected]
Link-up Values from external table

Relational Keys
i) Candidate key
It is a unique identifier of each record in a table. A table can have number of candidate
keys and out of these, one candidate key is designed as the primary key and it is by this
value that records can be sorted in a table unless otherwise, e.g. admission number.
ii) Primary key
Is a field or a set of fields whose content, is unique to one record and can therefore be
used to identify that record while sorting.
iii) Foreign key
This is the attribute or set of attributes within one relation that matches candidate key of
some other relation.

iv) Super key

An attribute or a set of attributes that uniquely identifies a tuple within a relation
v) Alternate key
This is a candidate key which has not been selected to be primary key
vi) Cardinality of a relationship
 Cardinality expresses the specific number of entity occurrences associated with one
occurrence of the related entity. The actual number of associated entities is governed by
the organization rules. Eg marks in an examination can be between 0-100%, i.e. not
more than 100%.

4. Object oriented Model:

 Object – oriented Model represents an entity as a class.
 A class represents both object attributes as well as behaviour of the entity
Advantage
i) Capability to handle large number of different data types
The other three data model limited in their capability to store the different types of data.
But the object-oriented data base can store any type of data including text, numbers, pictures,
voice and video.
Object – oriented features improve productivity:
a) Inheritance: We can develop solutions to complex problems incrementally by defining
new objects in terms of previously defined objects.
b) Polymorphism: allow one to define operations for one object and then to share the
specification of the operation with other object.
c) Dynamic binding: Determines at runtime which of these operation is actually executed,
depending on the class of the object requested to perform the operation.
Disadvantage:
i) Difficult to maintain.
ii) Not suited for all application

5. Entity-Relationship Model
 A database can be modeled as:
o a collection of entities,
o relationship among entities.
 An entity is an object that exists and is distinguishable from other objects.
o Example: specific person, company, event, plant
 Entities have attributes
o Example: people have names and addresses
 An entity set is a set of entities of the same type that share the same properties.
o Example: set of all persons, companies, trees, holidays

 Rectangles represent entity sets.

 Diamonds represent relationship sets.
 Lines link attributes to entity sets and entity sets to relationship sets.
 Ellipses represent attributes
o Double ellipses represent multivalve attributes.
o Dashed ellipses denote derived attributes.
 Underline indicates primary key attributes
6. FLAT FILES
In a flat file, a database holds only one set of data and is not any different from the
manual files. For example the cards in a library books catalogue. The cards are arranged
sequentially for easy access e.g. alphabetically using book’s title or by author’s names.

CREATING DATABASE
To create and manage database, we use Database Management System (DBMS) software. This
software facilitates the creation, organization and maintenance of databases. Examples of
DBMS software are Microsoft Access (MS Access), Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, FoxPro,
DbaseIV, Lotus Approach and MySQL.

The functions of a database management software are to;

a) Allow the user add or delete records
b) Update or modify existing records
c) Organize data for easy access, retrieval and manipulation of records.
d) Ensure security for the data in the database by safeguarding it against
unauthorized access and corruption (damage).
e) Keep statistics of data items in a database

 FEATURES OF A DATABASE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

Most database software contains a collection of features that provides the user with a
means to manipulate data in a database. These features include Tables, Queries, Reports
generators, Form interface and a computer programming language within it.

Tables/file structure
This is a database structure that is used to hold related records. Tables are organized in
rows and columns with each row representing a record while each column represents
common fields in each record.

Queries
A query is a statement use to extract, change, analyze or request for specific data from
one or more tables. Because a query is a question posed to the database, it returns a
result for the user.
Query statements are written using a special language called Structured Query
Language (SQL). The user creates a query by writing Structure query language
statement such as;
Select student admission number,
From
Admission table
Where
Class = year of admission

Forms/Input screen
A form is a graphical interface that resembles an ordinary paper form. Enter into or
view data from database. However, a database form enables the user to view and enter
data into a table. Form interface is a more convenient and easy way of entering and
viewing records from a table.
Reports
Most database systems provide the user with a tool for generating reports from
underlying tables o queries. It is the report generator that provides the user with a
means to specify the output layout and what is to be output or printed on a report.
Macros
In most DBMS software, it is possible to automate frequently performed procedures or
tasks using database components known as a macro. For example, if you frequently use
a particular form when you start a database program, you need to create a macro that
automates the opening of the form.

45
To create a new database;( Microsoft Office 2003)
1. Click start, point to programs, Microsoft Office, then Access 2003
2. On the New File, click create New
3. On the new file pane, click blank database
4. Select the location where the database will be created, type the database
name then click create.
The new database dialog box appears. This lets you specify the name and location
where your database will be stored. Click create.
5. Microsoft Access database objects window is displayed, from which you
can choose the type of object you wish to create such as tables, forms, queries etc.

Creating a table structure

To define a table structure
1. In Ms Access objects window, click the Tables tab then New.
2. In new table dialog box, select Design view.
3. Select blank database, click ok. A window prompting you to type and
save name of the database is displayed. NB: in Ms Access, you first give the
name to the database since you are creating it.
4. In the filename text box, type the name “students’ and click on create
button on the blank database structure or an Application window containing six
panels/Tables, Queries, Forms, Reports, Macros and Modules is opened as
follows:

Students database
Tables Queries Forms Reports Macros Modules
Open
Design view
New
ok
Assuming the “students database is open;

5. Click on the Tables tab and click on the New button to create a new
table. Access displays a New Table dialog box with various options of creating the
table
6. Select Design view and click ok. A blank data table structure is
displayed.
7. Using the grid displayed, enter a unique name for each field in the table.
A field name must start with a letter and can be up to a maximum of 64 characters
including letters, numbers, spaces and punctuation.
8. Choose appropriate data type before adding the next field. By default,
Ms Access inserts text as a data type. To specify the data type, click on the box
besides Text and select the required data type from the drop-down menu.
9. The field size and Formats are entered automatically on the General Tab
table structure. However, you can change the field sizes and Formats accordingly.
Note that when a field is empty, information in the general tab is not visibly displayed
immediately until you click in the data type column.
 10. To save the table, click the save button on the standard tool bar or save
from the file menu and save as (e.g. Students Table and click ok).
11. Access will ask you whether you want to create a Primary Key, click
yes.
12. Click on the View menu and select Datasheet View to see results of the
structure. At this point, you can enter a few records just to check that the table
structure designed will be suitable for the data.
13. Click on File and select Close to complete the table structure design. A
new table is complete and ready for the data entry.

A data table showing defined fields (complete table ready for data entry)

FIELD NAME FIELD FIELD SIZE

TYPE(DATA (FORMAT)
TYPE)
1 Number Autonumber Long integer
2 Names Text 20
3 Registration number Number Long integer
4 Birth Date Date/Time Short date
5 Sex Yes/No Yes/No
6 Marks Number Short integer

ADDING DATA TO A DATABASE

After defining the database structure like the one above, you can add data to it and it
appears like below;

NO NAMES REG. NO BIRTH DATE SEX MARKS

1 JOHN MARK 202/10 24/7/82 M 67
2 SARAH JANE 376/11 01/11/80 F 84
3 SHARRIF BII 190/10 25/12/81 M 80

CREATING A FORM IN MICROSOFT ACCESS

A form is used to enter records in a table. A form is designed to help in entering data
properly in a table. A form can have a graphical background, colour, e.t.c. forms
facilitate the entering of images/objects, used to customize the screen displayed and
make data entry easier.

To create a form, follow the following steps;

a) Click on the Forms tab and select New. A new form dialog box appears
b) From the options given, select Form Wizard. Click on the ok. A new form wizard
starts.
c) Under the Tables/Queries drop down list box, select Students table.
d) Click on » (double arrow) button to move all the fields in the available Fields box to
the Selected Fields box.
e) Click on the next button to continue. The form wizard asks you to select the type of
layout you like for the form
f) Click on Columnar layout and click on the nextb button to continue. The form
wizard now displays a list of various styles for you to make a choice.
g) Select the Standard style and click on the next to continue. Finally, the form wizard
request you for an appropriate title for your form.
h) For the title, type in Students Form and click on the Finish button. A new standard
form will be displayed with details of the first record if there was any entry.
 ADDING NEW RECORDS
In the Forms design screen,
1. Click on the Insert Menu
Select New Record. A blank form design screen appears wher you enter data.
2. From the list, select Report Wizard and click ok. A report wizard starts,
3. Click on the Table/Query drop down list box and select Students table that contains the
data that you want to base your report on. A list of fields will be displayed in the Available
Fields list box.
4. Click on the » (Select All) button to transfer all fields in the Available Fields list box to the
Selected Fields list box.
5. The Report Wizard will now prompt you to specify any grouping levels. Since we do not
want any grouping level, click on the next button to continue. The Report Wizard prompts you
to specify fields you want to appear sorted on.
6. In the First field sort text box, click the drop down list box and selct the Names field label.
This is because we want the names to appear in alphabetical order, click on the next button to
continue. The report wizard now displays a list of various Reports Layouts you can choose
from.
7. From the list, select Tabular layout and click on the next button to continue. The report
wizard will now dispays a list of various Report styles to choose from.
8. Select the Corporate style and click next to continue. The report wizard now displays a text
box and prompts you to specify any desired Title for the report.
9. In the text box, type Students Reports and click on the Finish button to continue. The
report wizard starts creating a report according to the specified details. After setting up the
report, it displays it and terminates.

DATA SECURITY AND CONTROL

Data exist is various forms- as numbers or texts on pieces of paper, as bits and bytes stored in electronic
memory or as facts stored in a person’s mind.

Information security is the process of protecting information. It protects its availability, privacy and
integrity. Access to stored information on computer databases has increased greatly. More companies
store business and individual information on computer than ever before. Much of the information
stored is highly confidential and not for public viewing.
 Data/information security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized
access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction,
disclosure or transfer, whether accidental or intentional.

Data control is the measure taken to enforce the security of the program and data. Data may be lost in
various ways such as virus, user errors, computer crushes, hacking, etc.

Many businesses are solely based on information stored in computers. Personal staff details, client lists,
salaries, bank account details, marketing and sales information may all be stored on a database. Without
this information, it would often be very hard for a business to operate. Information security systems
need to be implemented to protect this information.

Effective information security systems incorporate a range of policies, security products, technologies
and procedures. Software applications which provide firewall information security and virus scanners
are not enough on their own to protect information. A set of procedures and systems needs to be
applied to effectively deter access to information.

The terms information security, computer security and information assurance are frequently incorrectly
used interchangeably. These fields are interrelated often and share the common goals of protecting the
confidentiality, integrity and availability of information; however, there are some subtle differences
between them.

These differences lie primarily in the approach to the subject, the methodologies used, and the areas of
concentration. Information security is concerned with the confidentiality, integrity and availability of
data regardless of the form the data may take: electronic, print, or other forms.

Computer security can focus on ensuring the availability and correct operation of a computer system
without concern for the information stored or processed by the computer.

a) Security and Privacy

Security is about well-being (integrity) and about protecting property or interests from intrusions,
stealing or wire-tapping (privacy - the right to keep a secret can also be stolen). In order to do that, in a
hostile environment, we need to restrict access to our assets. To grant access to a few, we need to
know whom we can trust and we need to verify the credentials (authenticate) of those we allow to
come near us.

Security is thus based on the following independent issues:

 Privacy - the ability to keep things private/confidential
 Trust - do we trust data from an individual or a host? Could they be used against us?
 Authenticity - are security credentials in order? Are we talking to whom we think we are talking to,
privately or not.
 Integrity - has the system been compromised/altered already?
Environments can be hostile because of

 Physical threats - weather, natural disaster, bombs, power failures, etc.

 Human threats - stealing, trickery, bribery, spying, sabotage, accidents.
 Software threats - viruses, Trojan horses, logic bombs, denial of service.
What are we afraid of?

 Losing the ability to use the system.

 Losing important data or files
 Losing face/reputation
 Losing money
 Spreading private information about people.

b) Security threats and control measures

There are people who make a living from hacking or breaking through information security systems.
They use their technological skills to break into computer systems and access private information.
Firewalls, which are designed to prevent access to a computer's network, can be bypassed by a hacker
with the right hardware. This could result in the loss of vital information, or a virus could be planted
and erase all information. A computer hacker can gain access to a network if a firewall is shut down
for only a minute.

One of the biggest potential threats to information security is the people who operate the computers. A
workplace may have excellent information security systems in place, but security can be easily
compromised. If a help desk worker gives out or resets passwords without verifying who the
information is for, then anyone can easily gain access to the system. Computer operators should be
made fully aware of the importance of security.

Simple security measures can be used by everyone to keep data secure. Changing passwords on your
computer, and using combinations of letters and numbers, makes it harder for hackers to gain access.
Also, do not keep a note of your password where it can be easily accessed. This is the same idea as not
keeping your bank card and PIN number together. You would not want anyone to have access to the
information or funds in your bank account, and it is the same with your computer.

COMPUTER VIRUS
Computer Virus is a malicious software program written intentionally to enter a computer without the
user's permission or knowledge. It has the ability to replicate itself, thus continues to spread. Some
viruses do little but replicate, while others can cause severe harm or adversely affect program and
performance of the system. A virus should never be assumed harmless and left on a system.
It can be a code segment that replicates by attaching copies of itself to existing executable files. The
new copy of the virus is executed when a user executes the new host program. The virus may include
an additional code that triggers when specific conditions are met. For example, some viruses display a
text string on a particular date. There are many types of viruses, including variants, overwriting,
resident, stealth, and polymorphic.
a) TYPES OF COMPUTER VIRUSES
There are different types of computer viruses which can be classified according to their origin,
techniques, types of files they infect, where they hide, the kind of damage they cause, the type of
operating system or platform they attack as follows;

Boot Sector Virus

This type of virus affects the boot sector of a floppy or hard disk. This is a crucial part of a disk, in
which information of the disk itself is stored along with a program that makes it possible to boot (start)
the computer from the disk. The best way of avoiding boot sector viruses is to ensure that floppy disks
are write-protected and never starting your computer with an unknown floppy disk in the disk drive.
Examples: Polyboot.B, AntiEXE.
Companion Viruses
Companion viruses can be considered as a type of file infector viruses like resident or direct action
types. They are known as companion viruses because once they get into the system they 'accompany'
the other files that already exist. In other words, in order to carry out their infection routines,
companion viruses can wait in memory until a program is run (resident virus) or act immediately by
making copies of themselves (direct action virus).
Some examples include: Stator, Asimov.1539 and Terrax.1069
Resident Virus
This type of virus is permanent as it dwells in the Random Access Memory so as it can overcome and
interrupt all the operations executed by the system. It can corrupt files and programs that are opened,
closed, copied, renamed etc.
Examples: Randex, CMJ, Meve, and MrKlunky.

Direct Action Viruses

The main purpose of this virus is to replicate and take action when it is executed. When a specific
condition is met, the virus will go into action and infect files in the directory or folder that it is in as
well as directories that are specified in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file path. This batch file is always
located in the root directory of the hard disk and carries out certain operations when the computer is
booted.
Examples: Vienna virus.

Overwrite Viruses
Virus of this kind is characterized by the fact that it deletes the information contained in the files that it
infects, rendering them partially or totally useless once they have been infected. The only way to clean
a file infected by an overwrite virus is to delete the file completely, thus losing the original content.
Examples: Way, Trj.Reboot, Trivial.88.D.

Macro Virus
Macro viruses infect files that are created using certain applications or programs that contain macros.
These mini-programs make it possible to automate series of operations so that they are performed as a
single action, thereby saving the user from having to carry them out one by one.
Examples: Relax, Melissa.A, Bablas, O97M/Y2K.

Directory Virus
Directory viruses change the path that indicate the location of a file. When you execute a program file
with an extension .EXE or .COM that has been infected by a virus, you are unknowingly running the
virus program, while the original file and program is previously moved by the virus. Once infected it
becomes impossible to locate the original files.
Examples: Dir-2 virus.

Polymorphic Virus
Polymorphic viruses encrypt or encode themselves in a different way (using different algorithms and
encryption keys) every time they infect a system. This makes it impossible for anti-viruses to find
them using string or signature searches (because they are different in each encryption). The virus then
goes on creating a large number of copies.
Examples: Elkern, Marburg, Satan Bug and Tuareg.

File Infector Virus

This type of virus infects programs or executable files (files with .EXE or .COM extension). When one
of these programs is run, directly or indirectly, the virus is activated, producing the damaging effects it
is programmed to carry out. The majority of existing viruses belong to this category, and can be
classified depending on the actions that they carry out.
Examples: Cleevix and Cascade.

FAT Virus
The file allocation table or FAT is the part of a disk used to store all the information about the location
of files, available space, unusable space etc. FAT virus attacks the FAT section and may damage
crucial information. It can be especially dangerous as it prevents access to certain sections of the disk
where important files are stored. Damage caused can result in information losses from individual files
or even entire directories.

Multipartite Virus
These viruses spread in multiple ways possible. It may vary in its action depending upon the operating
system installed and the presence of certain files.
Examples: Invader, Flip and Tequila

Web Scripting Virus

Many web pages include complex code in order to create an interesting and interactive content. This
code is often exploited to bring about certain undesirable actions.

Trojans or Trojan Horses

Another unsavory breed of malicious code are Trojans or Trojan horses, which unlike viruses do not
reproduce by infecting other files, nor do they self-replicate like worms. In fact, it is program which
disguises itself as a useful program or application. They perform a desired task, but that also includes
unexpected (and undesirable) functions. Consider as an example an editing program for a multiuser
system. This program could be modified to randomly delete one of the users' files each time they
perform a useful function (editing), but the deletions are unexpected and definitely undesired!
Logic Bombs
They are not considered viruses because they do not replicate. They are not even programs in their
own right but rather camouflaged segments of other programs. They are only executed when a certain
predefined condition is met. Their objective is to destroy data on the computer once certain conditions
have been met. Logic bombs go undetected until launched and the results can be destructive.

Besides, there are many other computer viruses that have a potential to infect digital data. Hence, it is
a must that data is protected by installing a genuine quality anti-virus software.
Worms
Worms are programs that replicate and spread, often opening a back door to allow hackers to gain
access to the computers that they infect.
Worms can spread over the Internet by exploiting security flaws in the software of computers that are
connected to the Internet. Worms can also spread by copying themselves from disk to disk or by email.
A self-replicating program that is self-contained and does not require a host program. The program
creates a copy of itself and causes it to execute; no user intervention is required. Worms commonly
use network services to propagate to other host systems. A worm is a program very similar to a virus;
it has the ability to self-replicate and can lead to negative effects on your system. But they can be
detected and eliminated by anti-viruses.
Examples of worms include: PSWBugbear.B, Lovgate.F, Trile.C, Sobig.D, Mapson.
Stealth virus
A form of a virus that hide itself from detection by anti-virus software
Companion virus
This virus does not actually inject a program but gets a run when the program is supposed to run

How computers can be protected from viruses

1. Set up a software firewall. If you don't have a software firewall built in, upgrade your Operating
System and make sure everyone on your LAN is set up with the same firewall.
2. Install reliable antivirus software. Antivirus software scans files regularly for unusual changes in
file size, programs that match the software's database of known viruses, suspicious email
attachments, and other warning signs. It's the most important step you can take towards keeping your
computer clean of viruses. Norton AntiVirus is the world's leading antivirus software. It runs
continuously in the background of your computer, providing constant protection from viruses,
Trojan horses, worms, and other malicious code. To stay up-to-date on the latest online threats,
Norton AntiVirus automatically updates its virus definitions whenever you're online.
3. Take time and make the effort to understand how viruses and worms get onto your computer and
you can virtually stop them all in their tracks.
4. Don't automatically open attachments. Be sure your email program doesn't automatically
download attachments. This will ensure that you can examine and scan attachments before they run.
Refer to your email program's safety options or preferences menu for instructions.
5. Scan all incoming email attachments. Be sure to run each attachment you plan to open through
the anti-virus check. Do this even if you recognize and trust the sender; malicious code, like Trojan
horses, can slip into your system by appearing to be from a friendly source.
6. Get immediate protection. Configure your antivirus software to boot automatically on start-up
and run at all times. This will provide you back-up protection in case you forget to scan an
attachment, or decide not to. And in case you forget to boot up your antivirus software, configuring
it to start by itself will ensure you get immediate protection anyway.
7. Update your anti-virus software frequently. An antivirus software program is only as good as
the frequency with which it is updated. New viruses, worms, and Trojan horses are born daily, and
variations of them can slip by software that is not current. Norton AntiVirus has a feature that
searches for new virus definitions every time you go online, so you are always up to date.
 8. Don't download programs from the Web. Unreliable sources such as Internet newsgroups or
Web sites that you haven't heard of may be willing providers of viruses for your computer. Avoid
downloading files you can't be sure are safe. This includes freeware, screensavers, games, and any
other executable program—any files with an ".exe" or "".com" extension, such as "coolgame.exe."
Check to see if the site has anti-virus software running on their side. If you do have to download
from the Internet, be sure to scan each program before running it. Save all downloads to one folder,
then run virus checks on everything in the folder before using it.
9. Don't boot from an unknown data CD. Data CDs are one of the most common ways viruses are
transmitted. If you are using a data CD while working on your computer, remove it when you shut
the machine off or the computer may automatically try to boot from the disc, perhaps launching or
installing bad programs or files on your computer.
10. Don't share data CDs. Even a well-meaning friend may unknowingly pass along a virus, Trojan
horse, or worm. Label your discs clearly so you know they're yours and don't loan them out. If a
friend passes you a foreign disc, suggest an alternative method of file sharing.
11. Scan files for viruses before using them. This is always important, but especially if you are using
a disc or flash memory to carry information between one computer and another. You could easily
pick up a virus from a corrupted file and introduce it into your system. Running a virus scan before
launching any of new files will prevent infection.
12. Use common sense. It's always better to err on the side of safety. If you're unsure about an
attachment, delete it. Especially if it's from a source you don't recognize. If there are tempting
animations on a site that look highly unprofessional, don't download them.
13. Don't download anything from anyone you don't know or aren't expecting... EVER. For all you
VAs, and publishers and whoever else out there is trading files back and forth with your clients...
Stop and make sure that your client has a safe system before you start trading files with them. It's
worth the time.

Conclusion

Information security is the ongoing process of exercising due care and due diligence to protect
information, and information systems, from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, destruction,
modification, or disruption or distribution. The never ending process of information security involves
ongoing training, assessment, protection, monitoring & detection, incident response & repair,
documentation, and review. This makes information security an indispensable part of all the business
operations across different domains.

c) Computer crimes
Hacking

Hacking is when an individual gets unauthorized access into a computer where they may; -look at the
data, copy the data, modify or erase the data.

Phishing
 A Phishing attack is when you are sent an email that asks you to click on a link and re-enter your bank
or credit card details. These emails can pretend to be from banks, Internet service providers, on-line
stores and so on, and both the email and the web site it links to appear genuine. When you enter your
bank or credit card details they are then used fraudulently.

Zombies

A Zombie is a dormant program that lies inactive on a computer. It can be activated remotely to aid a
collective attack on another computer. Zombies don’t normally damage the computer on which they
reside but can damage other computers.

Zombies often arrive as email attachments and when the attachment is opened they install themselves
secretly and then wait to be activated.

Internet Based Attacks

While your computer is connected to the Internet it can be subject to attack through your network
communications. Some of the most common attacks include:

 Bonk – An attack on the Microsoft TCP/IP stack that can crash the attacked computer.
 RDS_Shell – A method of exploiting the Remote Data Services component of the Microsoft
Data Access Components that lets a remote attacker run commands with system privileges.

 WinNuke – An exploit that can use NetBIOS to crash older Windows computers.

Viral Web Sites

Users can be enticed, often by email messages, to visit web sites that contain viruses or Trojans. These
sites are known as viral web sites and are often made to look like well known web sites and can have
similar web addresses to the sites they are imitating. Users who visit these sites often inadvertently
download and run a virus or Trojan and can then become infected or the subject of hacker attacks.

Spyware, Adware and Advertising Trojans

Spyware, Adware and Advertising Trojans are often installed with other programs, usually without
your knowledge. They record your behaviour on the Internet, display targeted ads to you and can
even download other malicious software on to your computer. They are often included within
programs that you can download free from the Internet or that are on CDs given away free by
magazines.

Spyware doesn’t usually carry viruses but it can use your system resources and slow down your
Internet connection with the display of ads. If the Spyware contains bugs (faults) it can make your
computer unstable but the main concern is your privacy. These programs record every step that you
take on the Internet and forward it to an Ad Management Centre which reviews your searches and
downloads to determine your shopping preferences. The Ad Management Centre will build up a
detailed profile of you, without your knowledge, and can pass this on to third parties, again without
your knowledge. Some Spyware can download more serious threats on to your computer, such as
Trojan Horses.
Virus Hoaxes

Virus hoaxes are messages, usually sent by email, that amount to little more than chain letters. They
pretend to alert you to the latest "undetectable" virus and simply waste your time and Internet bandwidth.
The best course of action is to delete these hoaxes - they can cause genuine fear and alarm in the disabled,
elderly and other vulnerable groups.
Unsecured Wireless Access Points

If a wireless access point, e.g. an ADSL (Broadband) Router, hasn't been secured then anyone with a
wireless device (laptop, PDA, etc) will be able to connect to it and thereby access the Internet and all the
other computers on the wireless network.
Bluesnarfing

The act of stealing personal data, specifically calendar and contact information, from a Bluetooth enabled
device.
Social Engineering
Tricking computer users into revealing computer security or private information, e.g. passwords, email
addresses, etc, by exploiting the natural tendency of a person to trust and/or by exploiting a person's
emotional response.
Example 1: Spammers send out an email about victims of child abuse and provide a link to click in the
email for further information or to help the victims. When the link is clicked the spammers know the
email address is "live" and add it to their live list which they then use to target their spam.

Example 2: A company computer user is tricked into revealing the network password by someone on the
telephone who is impersonating the voice of an employee in authority and who has a story of distress.

Worms

Worms are programs that replicate and spread, often opening a back door to allow hackers to gain access
to the computers that they infect.

Worms can spread over the Internet by exploiting security flaws in the software of computers that are
connected to the Internet. Worms can also spread by copying themselves from disk to disk or by email.

d) Detection and protection against computer crimes

Trespass
This is when someone is able to connect to your computer and control it in some form. This can
range from being able to view or access your files, to actually running programs on your computer
Some programs have special features that allow for remote access. Others contain bugs that allow a
backdoor or hidden access, that provides some level of control of the program, and trespassers will
make use of this to gain access to your computer.

Tracking
Tracking is when someone is able to monitor what you are doing on your computer system. This
applies mainly to tracking Internet usage, where someone may monitor what sites you visited and
what links you clicked on so that they can determine your interests, and use that information for
future marketing.

Tapping
Tapping is when someone gains access to information that is being transmitted via communication
links. Any information that is transmitted across a network is at risk of being intercepted, if
appropriate security measures are not in place

Cracking
Cracking is similar to hacking, but with one major distinction. In hacking, someone feels the need
to understand how the computer or network system of an organization works, but without the intent
of causing damage. In cracking, someone uses his or her knowledge of information systems to
literally to illegally or unethically penetrate computers system for personal gain.

Privacy and Fraud

Trespassing, tapping and cracking all violate privacy of information and leave systems open to
fraud. Any compromised system can potentially leak personal information –such as medical
information, credit card details, etc.

Sabotage
Sabotage occurs when a malicious user renders a system unusable by other users. Sabotage takes
different forms;

‘Denial of service’ is common on the internet. A hacker using his/her computer, but mimicking
different computers, sends many requests to connect to the web server. The server attempts,
unsuccessfully, to establish communication with each one of this ‘computers’. These attempts
create much activity (traffic) that slows down the server to crawl and may eventually cause it to
crash. Genuine users will then have been denied service.
Release of viruses is also another form of sabotage

Spam
By gaining access to a list of e-mail addresses, a person can send unsolicited junk e-mail, called
spam to thousands of users. This is done quite often by redirecting the email through the mail
server of an unsuspecting host, making the actual sender of the spam difficult to track.

Alterations
When a system is compromised, the data stored in it can be altered. Typical examples of data
alteration are when students break into a system to alter exam results, or someone breaks into a
banking system to change account details or divert money.

Confidentiality
Confidentiality is the term used to prevent the disclosure of information to unauthorized individuals or
systems. For example, a credit card transaction on the Internet requires the credit card number to be
transmitted from the buyer to the merchant and from the merchant to a transaction processing network.
The system attempts to enforce confidentiality by encrypting the card number during transmission, by
limiting the places where it might appear (in databases, log files, backups, printed receipts, and so on),
and by restricting access to the places where it is stored. If an unauthorized party obtains the card
number in any way, a breach of confidentiality has occurred.

Confidentiality is necessary (but not sufficient) for maintaining the privacy of the people whose
personal information a system holds.

Integrity

In information security, integrity means that data cannot be modified undetectably. Integrity is violated
when a message is actively modified in transit. Information security systems typically provide
message integrity in addition to data confidentiality.

Availability
For any information system to serve its purpose, the information must be available when it is needed.
This means that the computing systems used to store and process the information, the security controls
used to protect it, and the communication channels used to access it must be functioning correctly

Authenticity
In computing, e-Business and information security it is necessary to ensure that the data, transactions,
communications or documents (electronic or physical) are genuine. It is also important for authenticity
to validate that both parties involved are who they claim they are.

Controls/Protection
Audit trail
Audit trail help to detect trespassing and alteration. It is used to keep a record of who has accessed a
computer system and what operations he/she has performed during a given period of time.. in case a
system is broken into by a hacker, an audit trail enables their activities to be tracked. Any unauthorized
alterations can be rolled back to take the system back to the state it was in before the alterations were
done.

Hacking
To prevent or stop such;
Log off correctly from the computer when leaving the machine
Chose passwords that are not obvious, with at least 6 characters and a mixture of numbers and
both upper and lower case letters
Keeping passwords confidential and not writing them down anywhere
Changing passwords regularly
Encrypting data that is transmitted using the telecommunications network or wireless
communication

Firewalls
A physical firewall keeps a fire from spreading from one area to the next. Similarly, a firewall is
a program or hardware that filters information coming through the internet and connections
into your personal computer or network. Firewalls can prevent unauthorized remote logins,
limit or stop Spam, and filter the content that is downloaded from the internet. Some firewalls
offer virus protection but it is worth the investment to install Anti-virus software on each
computer.

When Management chooses to mitigate a risk, they will do so by implementing one or more of three
different types of controls.

Administrative
Administrative controls (also called procedural controls) consist of approved written policies,
procedures, standards and guidelines. Administrative controls form the framework for running the
business and managing people. They inform people on how the business is to be run and how day to
day operations are to be conducted. Laws and regulations created by government bodies are also a type
of administrative control because they inform the business. Some industry sectors have policies,
procedures, standards and guidelines that must be followed - the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data
Security Standard required by Visa and Master Card is such an example. Other examples of
administrative controls include the corporate security policy, password policy, hiring policies, and
disciplinary policies.

Administrative controls form the basis for the selection and implementation of logical and physical
controls. Logical and physical controls are manifestations of administrative controls. Administrative
controls are of paramount importance.

Logical
Logical controls (also called technical controls) use software and data to monitor and control access to
information and computing systems. For example: passwords, network and host based firewalls,
network intrusion detection systems, access control lists, and data encryption are logical controls.

An important logical control that is frequently overlooked is the principle of least privilege. The
principle of least privilege requires that an individual, program or system process is not granted any
more access privileges than are necessary to perform the task. A blatant example of the failure to
adhere to the principle of least privilege is logging into Windows as user Administrator to read Email
and surf the Web. Violations of this principle can also occur when an individual collects additional
access privileges over time. This happens when employees' job duties change, or they are promoted to
a new position, or they transfer to another department. The access privileges required by their new
duties are frequently added onto their already existing access privileges which may no longer be
necessary or appropriate.

Physical

i) Physical controls monitor and control the environment of the work place and computing
facilities. They also monitor and control access to and from such facilities. For example: doors, locks,
heating and air conditioning, smoke and fire alarms, fire suppression systems, cameras, barricades,
fencing, security guards, cable locks, etc. Separating the network and work place into functional areas
are also physical controls. To prevent loss of hardware (theft), computers should be kept in strong
rooms and data back-up should be done regularly. An important physical control that is frequently
overlooked is the separation of duties. Separation of duties ensures that an individual can not
complete a critical task by himself. For example: an employee who submits a request for
reimbursement should not also be able to authorize payment or print the check. An applications
programmer should not also be the server administrator or the database administrator - these roles and
responsibilities must be separated from one another.
ii) Restricting access to areas with computers, so that only authorized personnel are allowed to use
the system
iii) Keeping computer rooms locked after working hours
iv) Installing alarm systems and other security devices

Security classification of information

An important aspect of information security and risk management is recognizing the value of
information and defining appropriate procedures and protection requirements for the information. Not
all information is equal and so not all information requires the same degree of protection. This requires
information to be assigned a security classification.

The first step in information classification is to identify a member of senior management as the owner
of the particular information to be classified. Next, develop a classification policy. The policy should
describe the different classification labels, define the criteria for information to be assigned a particular
label, and list the required security controls for each classification.

The type of information security classification labels selected and used will depend on the nature of
the organization, with examples being:

 In the business sector, labels such as: Public, Sensitive, Private, Confidential.
 In the government sector, labels such as: Unclassified, Sensitive But Unclassified,
Restricted, Confidential, Secret, Top Secret and their non-English equivalents.
 In cross-sectoral formations, the Traffic Light Protocol, this consists of: White, Green, Amber
and Red.

All employees in the organization, as well as business partners, must be trained on the classification
schema and understand the required security controls and handling procedures for each classification.
The classification a particular information asset has been assigned should be reviewed periodically to
ensure the classification is still appropriate for the information and to ensure the security controls
required by the classification are in place.

Access control

Access to protected information must be restricted to people who are authorized to access the
information. The computer programs, and in many cases the computers that process the information,
must also be authorized. This requires that mechanisms be in place to control the access to protected
information. The sophistication of the access control mechanisms should be in parity with the value of
the information being protected - the more sensitive or valuable the information the stronger the
control mechanisms need to be. The foundation on which access control mechanisms are built start
with identification and authentication.

i) Identification is an assertion of who someone is or what something is. If a person makes

the statement "Hello, my name is John Doe" they are making a claim of who they are. However, their
claim may or may not be true. Before John Doe can be granted access to protected information it will
be necessary to verify that the person claiming to be John Doe really is John Doe.
ii) Authentication is the act of verifying a claim of identity. When John Doe goes into a bank
to make a withdrawal, he tells the bank teller he is John Doe (a claim of identity). The bank teller asks
to see a photo ID, so he hands the teller his driver's license. The bank teller checks the license to make
sure it has John Doe printed on it and compares the photograph on the license against the person
claiming to be John Doe. If the photo and name match the person, then the teller has authenticated that
John Doe is who he claimed to be.

There are three different types of information that can be used for authentication: something you
know, something you have, or something you are. Examples of something you know include such
things as a PIN, a password, or your mother's maiden name. Examples of something you have include
a driver's license or a magnetic swipe card. Something you are refers to biometrics. Examples of
biometrics include palm prints, finger prints, voice prints and retina (eye) scans. Strong authentication
requires providing information from two of the three different types of authentication information. For
example, something you know plus something you have. This is called two factor authentication.

On computer systems in use today, the Username is the most common form of identification and the
Password is the most common form of authentication. Usernames and passwords have served their
purpose but in our modern world they are no longer adequate. Usernames and passwords are slowly
being replaced with more sophisticated authentication mechanisms.

After a person, program or computer has successfully been identified and authenticated then it must be
determined what informational resources they are permitted to access and what actions they will be
allowed to perform (run, view, create, delete, or change). This is called authorization.

Authorization to access information and other computing services begins with administrative policies
and procedures. The policies prescribe what information and computing services can be accessed, by
whom, and under what conditions. The access control mechanisms are then configured to enforce
these policies.

Different computing systems are equipped with different kinds of access control mechanisms - some
may even offer a choice of different access control mechanisms. The access control mechanism a
system offers will be based upon one of three approaches to access control or it may be derived from a
combination of the three approaches.

The non-discretionary approach consolidates all access control under a centralized administration.
The access to information and other resources is usually based on the individuals function (role) in the
organization or the tasks the individual must perform. The discretionary approach gives the creator
or owner of the information resource the ability to control access to those resources. In the Mandatory
access control approach, access is granted or denied basing upon the security classification assigned
to the information resource.

Cryptography (data encryption)

Information security uses cryptography to transform usable information into a form that renders it
unusable by anyone other than an authorized user; this process is called encryption. Information that
has been encrypted (rendered unusable) can be transformed back into its original usable form by an
authorized user, who possesses the cryptographic key, through the process of decryption.
Cryptography is used in information security to protect information from unauthorized or accidental
disclosure while the information is in transit (either electronically or physically) and while information
is in storage.

Cryptography provides information security with other useful applications as well including improved
authentication methods, message digests, digital signatures, non-repudiation, and encrypted network
communications.

Cryptography can introduce security problems when it is not implemented correctly. Cryptographic
solutions need to be implemented using industry accepted solutions that have undergone rigorous peer
review by independent experts in cryptography. The length and strength of the encryption key is also
an important consideration. A key that is weak or too short will produce weak encryption. The keys
used for encryption and decryption must be protected with the same degree of rigor as any other
confidential information. They must be protected from unauthorized disclosure and destruction and
they must be available when needed. PKI solutions address many of the problems that surround key
management.

Defense in depth

Information security must protect information throughout the life span of the information, from the
initial creation of the information on through to the final disposal of the information. The information
must be protected while in motion and while at rest. During its life time, information may pass through
many different information processing systems and through many different parts of information
processing systems. There are many different ways the information and information systems can be
threatened. To fully protect the information during its lifetime, each component of the information
processing system must have its own protection mechanisms. The building up, layering on and
overlapping of security measures is called defense in depth. The strength of any system is no greater
than its weakest link. Using a defense in depth strategy, should one defensive measure fail there are
other defensive measures in place that continue to provide protection.

Process

The terms reasonable and prudent person, due care and due diligence have been used in the fields
of Finance, Securities, and Law for many years.

In the field of Information Security, Harris offers the following definitions of due care and due
diligence:

"Due care are steps that are taken to show that a company has taken responsibility for the activities
that take place within the corporation and has taken the necessary steps to help protect the company,
its resources, and employees." And, [Due diligence are the] "continual activities that make sure the
protection mechanisms are continually maintained and operational."

Attention should be made to two important points in these definitions. First, in due care, steps are
taken to show - this means that the steps can be verified, measured, or even produce tangible artifacts.
Second, in due diligence, there are continual activities - this means that people are actually doing
things to monitor and maintain the protection mechanisms, and these activities are ongoing.

Disaster recovery planning

While a business continuity plan (BCP) takes a broad approach to dealing with organizational-wide
effects of a disaster, a disaster recovery plan (DRP), which is a subset of the business continuity plan,
is instead focused on taking the necessary steps to resume normal business operations as quickly as
possible. A disaster recovery plan is executed immediately after the disaster occurs and details what
steps are to be taken in order to recover critical information technology infrastructure.

e) Laws governing protection of ICT

Laws and regulations

Computer crime is a growing industry. Some of the issues addressed by ICT legislation are;

i) To protect the confidentiality of information kept about an individual

ii) To provide legal backing so that it is possible to seek redress if rights are violated
iii) To minimize the effects of exposure to uncensored materials
iv) To observe copyright for those who create original work

In Kenya, the Copyright Act was amended in 1996 to include protection for computer programs and
software copyright. In addition to copyright protection, there are other laws in force in other countries.
Some examples are listed below with a description of what the legislations entails.
Legislations Description
Privacy Laws Non-disclosure of private data to persons than
those to whom it was given
Data Protection A safeguard to protect personal data. It basically
ensures that holders of personal data do not
misuse data
Computer Misuse To prevent misuse of both hardware and software,
including computer viruses, hacking, etc
Health and Safety An explanation of what employers must do and
what the equipment must be like to safeguard the
health and safety of employees
Prohibited Publication To prevent undesirable publication being
published and distributed electronically, for
example pornography and hate mail

Below is a partial listing of European, United Kingdom, Canadian and USA governmental laws and
regulations that have, or will have, a significant effect on data processing and information security.
Important industry sector regulations have also been included when they have a significant impact on
information security.

 UK Data Protection Act 1998 makes new provisions for the regulation of the processing of
information relating to individuals, including the obtaining, holding, use or disclosure of such
information. The European Union Data Protection Directive (EUDPD) requires that all EU member
must adopt national regulations to standardize the protection of data privacy for citizens throughout
the EU.
 The Computer Misuse Act 1990 is an Act of the UK Parliament making computer crime (e.g.
cracking - sometimes incorrectly referred to as hacking) a criminal offence. The Act has become a
model upon which several other countries including Canada and the Republic of Ireland have drawn
inspiration when subsequently drafting their own information security laws.
 EU Data Retention laws requires Internet service providers and phone companies to keep data
on every electronic message sent and phone call made for between six months and two years.
 The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232 g; 34 CFR Part
99) is a USA Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all
schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.
Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release
any information from a student's education record.
 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 requires the adoption of
national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health
insurance plans, and employers. And, it requires health care providers, insurance providers and
employers to safeguard the security and privacy of health data.
 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (GLBA), also known as the Financial Services
Modernization Act of 1999, protects the privacy and security of private financial information that
financial institutions collect, hold, and process.
 Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Section 404 of the act requires publicly traded companies
to assess the effectiveness of their internal controls for financial reporting in annual reports they
submit at the end of each fiscal year. Chief information officers are responsible for the security,
accuracy and the reliability of the systems that manage and report the financial data. The act also
requires publicly traded companies to engage independent auditors who must attest to, and report on,
the validity of their assessments.
 Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) establishes comprehensive
requirements for enhancing payment account data security. It was developed by the founding payment
brands of the PCI Security Standards Council, including American Express, Discover Financial
Services, JCB, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa International, to help facilitate the broad adoption of
consistent data security measures on a global basis. The PCI DSS is a multifaceted security standard
that includes requirements for security management, policies, procedures, network architecture,
software design and other critical protective measures.
 State Security Breach Notification Laws (California and many others) require businesses,
nonprofits, and state institutions to notify consumers when unencrypted "personal information" may
have been compromised, lost, or stolen.
 Personal Information Protection and Electronics Document Act (PIPEDA) - An Act to support
and promote electronic commerce by protecting personal information that is collected, used or
disclosed in certain circumstances, by providing for the use of electronic means to communicate or
record information or transactions and by amending the Canada Evidence Act, the Statutory
Instruments Act and the Statute Revision Act.

Sources of standards

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a consortium of national standards institutes

from 157 countries, coordinated through a secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland. ISO is the world's
largest developer of standards. ISO 15443: "Information technology - Security techniques - A
framework for IT security assurance", ISO/IEC 27002: "Information technology - Security techniques
- Code of practice for information security management", ISO-20000: "Information technology -
Service management", and ISO/IEC27001: "Information technology - Security techniques -
Information security management systems - Requirements" are of particular interest to information
security professionals.

The USA National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a non-regulatory federal agency
within the U.S. Department of Commerce. The NIST Computer Security Division develops standards,
metrics, tests and validation programs as well as publishes standards and guidelines to increase secure
IT planning, implementation, management and operation. NIST is also the custodian of the USA
Federal Information Processing Standard publications (FIPS).

The Internet Society is a professional membership society with more than 100 organization and over
20,000 individual members in over 180 countries. It provides leadership in addressing issues that
confront the future of the Internet, and is the organization home for the groups responsible for Internet
infrastructure standards, including the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet
Architecture Board (IAB). The ISOC hosts the Requests for Comments (RFCs) which includes the
Official Internet Protocol Standards and the RFC-2196 Site Security Handbook.

The Information Security Forum is a global nonprofit organization of several hundred leading
organizations in financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, consumer goods, government,
and other areas. It undertakes research into information security practices and offers advice in its
biannual Standard of Good Practice and more detailed advisories for members.

The IT Baseline Protection Catalogs, or IT-Grundschutz Catalogs, ("IT Baseline Protection Manual"
before 2005) are a collection of documents from the German Federal Office for Security in
Information Technology (FSI), useful for detecting and combating security-relevant weak points in the
IT environment (“IT cluster“). The collection encompasses over 3000 pages with the introduction and
catalogs.

Professionalism

Information security professionalism is the set of knowledge that people working in Information
security and similar fields (Information Assurance and Computer security) should have and eventually
demonstrate through certifications from well respected organizations. It also encompasses the
education process required to accomplish different tasks in these fields.

Information technology adoption is always increasing and spread to vital infrastructure for civil and
military organizations. Everybody can get involved in the Cyber war. It is crucial that a nation can
have skilled professional to defend its vital interests.

Conclusion

Information security is the ongoing process of exercising due care and due diligence to protect
information, and information systems, from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, destruction,
modification, or disruption or distribution. The never ending process of information security involves
ongoing training, assessment, protection, monitoring & detection, incident response & repair,
documentation, and review. This makes information security an indispensable part of all the business
operations across different domains.

NETWORKING AND INTERNET

a) Meaning of networks
Computer Network
• Definition: A computer network refers to a set of computers connected to one another using a
modem and other communication links for the purpose of sharing resources which include
hardware, software, data and information.

• The network operating system/network software contains instructions that enable the hardware
to work as a network.
• Computer networks can be classified into different categories. E.g. according to geographical
coverage, ownership etc.
A network is a logical extension of a data communication system. In a computer network, two
or more processors or computers are linked together with carriers and data communication
devices for the purpose of communicating data and sharing resources. The term "topology" in
the context of a communications network determines the data paths that may be used between
any pair of stations of the network. A network consists of multiple computers connected using
 some type of interface, each having one or more interface devices such as a Network Interface
Card (NIC) and/or a serial device for networking. Each computer is supported by network
software that provides the server or client functionality. The hardware used to transmit data
across the network is called the media. It may include copper cable, fiber optic, or wireless
transmission.
In a server based network, there are computers set up to be primary providers of services such
as file service or mail service. The computers providing the service are called servers and the
computers that request and use the service are called client computers.
b) Functions of networks
i) All users can easily share or exchange information
ii) The computers in a network can share resources such as printers and scanners
iii) Software can be shared hence using same license
iv) Data backup can be achieved easily
c) Types of networks (Classification of computer network according to geographical
coverage):
In this case, computer networks can be classified in to:
1. Local Area Network (LAN) - Defined as a communication network that provides
interconnection of a variety of data communication devices within a small area e.g. same office,
on the same floor or in the same building. LANs are typically owned by small organizations,
companies, schools etc. Limited to a small geographical area usually under one KM
2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
This covers a slightly a large area e.g. an entire city.
3. Wide Area Network (WAN)
This is a network that covers a very large area e.g. at several countries, a whole country, a
continent or several continents. It involves interconnection of LANS and MANS to cover a wide
range of distance. Covers a large or greater distance e.g. nationwide or worldwide. An example of
WAN is the Internet.

d) Networks configuration/Topology

In communication networks, a topology is a usually schematic description of the arrangement of

a network, including its nodes and connecting lines. There are two ways of defining network
geometry: the physical topology and the logical (or signal) topology.

The physical topology of a network is the actual geometric layout of workstations. There are
several common physical topologies, as described below and as shown in the illustration.
  
In the bus network topology, every workstation is connected to a main cable called the bus.
Therefore, in effect, each workstation is directly connected to every other workstation in the
network.
In the star network topology, there is a central computer or server to which all the workstations
are directly connected. Every workstation is indirectly connected to every other through the
central computer.
In the ring network topology, the workstations are connected in a closed loop configuration.
Adjacent pairs of workstations are directly connected. Other pairs of workstations are indirectly
connected, the data passing through one or more intermediate nodes.
If a Token Ring protocol is used in a star or ring topology, the signal travels in only one
direction, carried by a so-called token from node to node.
The mesh network topology employs either of two schemes, called full mesh and partial mesh.
In the full mesh topology, each workstation is connected directly to each of the others. In the
partial mesh topology, some workstations are connected to all the others, and some are
connected only to those other nodes with which they exchange the most data.
The tree network topology uses two or more star networks connected together. The central
computers of the star networks are connected to a main bus. Thus, a tree network is a bus
network of star networks.
Logical (or signal) topology refers to the nature of the paths the signals follow from node to
node. In many instances, the logical topology is the same as the physical topology. But this is
not always the case. For example, some networks are physically laid out in a star configuration,
but they operate logically as bus or ring networks.
Topology can be understood as the shape or structure of a network. This shape does not
necessarily correspond to the actual physical design of the devices on the computer network.
The computers on a home network can be arranged in a circle but it does not necessarily mean
that it represents a ring topology.
Advantages of Bus Topology
i It is easy to handle and implement.
ii It is best suited for small networks.
iii Easy to connect a computer or peripheral to a linear bus.
iv Requires less cable length than a star topology.
Disadvantages of Bus Topology
 i The cable length is limited. This limits the number of stations that can be connected.
ii This network topology can perform well only for a limited number of nodes.
iii Entire network shuts down if there is a break in the main cable.
iv Terminators are required at both ends of the backbone cable.
v Difficult to identify the problem if the entire network shuts down.
vi Not meant to be used as a stand-alone solution in a large building.
Star
Advantages of a Star Topology
i Easy to install and wire.
ii No disruptions to the network when connecting or removing devices.
iii Easy to detect faults and to remove parts.
iv Due to its centralized nature, the topology offers simplicity of operation.
v It also achieves an isolation of each device in the network.
Disadvantages of a Star Topology
i Requires more cable length than a linear topology.
ii If the hub, switch, or concentrator fails, nodes attached are disabled.
iii More expensive than linear bus topologies because of the cost of the hubs, etc.
iv The network operation depends on the functioning of the central hub. Hence, the failure of the
central hub leads to the failure of the entire network.
Mesh
Advantage of Mesh Topology
 The arrangement of the network nodes is such that it is possible to transmit data from
one node to many other nodes at the same time.
 System provides increased redundancy and reliability as well as ease of
troubleshooting.
 This type of network is very reliable, as any line breakdown will affects only
communication between the connected computers.
 Communication is very fast between any two nodes.
Disadvantage of Mesh Topology
 The arrangement wherein every network node is connected to every other node
of the network, many of the connections serve no major purpose. This leads
to the redundancy of many of the network connections.
 System is expensive to install because it uses a lot of cabling. 
 It is most expensive system from the point of view of line cost. if there are (n)
nodes in the network, then n (n-1)/2 links are required. Thus the cost of
linking the system grows with the square of the numbers of the nodes.
 Additions of the new nodes to the network is difficult.

i) Tree topology
Advantages of a Tree Topology
 Point-to-point wiring for individual segments.
 Supported by several hardware and software venders.
Disadvantages of a Tree Topology
 Overall length of each segment is limited by the type of cabling used.
 If the backbone line breaks, the entire segment goes down.
 More difficult to configure and wire than other topologies.
e) Meaning and uses of internet

INTERNET CONNECTIVITY
The purpose of networking is to connect friends, business people, corporations, information and
research centers, entertainment and enrichment resources with the whole world. Computers can
connect to the Internet in a variety of ways; such as through a university or business LAN that can
connect directly to the internet, or directly through an ISP. In this topic (6.3) we will be looking at
some of the requirements and terms you might encounter when you want to connect to the internet.
1. DATA TERMINAL EQUIPMENT (DTE)
Data terminal equipment (DTE) is an instrument that converts user information into signals
and/or reconverts received signals back into the original data. Data terminal Equipment is on both
ends of the transmission circuit, i.e. at the senders end and at the receivers end.
Data terminal equipment (DTE) can be a computer, a terminal, a router, an access server
2. SERVER AND CLIENT
A server is a computer program or a series of computers that provides essential services to other
computers across a network. Servers provide unique capabilities that can be shared by all other
devices in a network. There are several types of servers such as;
File servers; it allows all users to share one or more large capacity disk drives
Print servers; provides access to one or more printers
Communication servers; provides access to other LAN and host computers.
Application servers; which provide processing capacity for applications that are shared by many
people/computers.
Web servers; which allows websites that can be accessed over a corporate intranet or one that
gives access to the www.
A server function can be performed by a computer that is used as a normal workstation or by a
dedicated computer that has the sole purpose of providing server functions to other users on a
network.
When a network has server(s) the other workstations are called clients. This introduces the concept
of client/server computing. In this system, a client request data from a server which then provides
the requested data or information back to the client. Therefore we can say that a client is an
application or system that accesses a remote service on another computer system, known as a
server, over a network.
The client can be a dumb terminal i.e. it has no processing capabilities, or it can be a fully
functioning terminal with processing and storage capabilities. Today there are very few dumb
terminals existing. An example of how a client server system works
PORTS
A port is a virtual/logical data connection that can be used by programs to exchange data directly.
The most common of these are TCP and UDP ports, which are used to exchange data between
computers on the Internet.
These ports allow software applications to share hardware resources without interfering with each
other. Computers and routers automatically manage network traffic traveling via their virtual ports.

INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS (ISP)

Is a company that offers its customers access to the Internet through its own internet connected
servers, providing a gateway to the internet. ISPs can also provide email accounts, web-hosting etc
to its clientele. The services the ISP offers are charged or billed as per an agreed system.
ISPs may use a range of technologies to enable consumers to connect to their network. For
personal users and small businesses, the most popular options include dial-up, DSL, broadband
wireless, cable modem and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM (DNS)
The domain name system (DNS) is the way that Internet domain names are located and translated
into Internet Protocol addresses. A domain name is a meaningful and easy-to-remember name for
an Internet address.
The Domain Name System (DNS) helps users to find their way around the Internet. Every
computer on the Internet has a unique address called the IP Address such as 192.168.11.80. But it
is hard to remember everyone's IP address. The DNS makes it easier by allowing a familiar string
of letters (the "domain name") to be used instead of the IP address. So instead of typing
192.0.34.65, you can type www.kaiboi.ac.ke.
Translating the name like www.kaiboi.ac.ke. into the IP address is called "resolving the domain
name." The goal of the DNS is for any Internet user any place in the world to reach a specific
website IP address by entering its domain name. Domain names are also used for reaching e-mail
addresses and for other Internet applications.
DNS SERVER
A DNS server is any computer registered to join the Domain Name System. A DNS server runs
special-purpose networking software and contains a database of network names and addresses for
other Internet hosts.
DNS server is responsible for turning domain names to IP addresses and locating them on one of
the millions of hosting servers.
DNS servers are organized in a hierarchical order and communicate with each other through
private network protocols. The master DNS servers, known as root servers, store the whole
database of the Internet domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. They are owned by
various independent agencies based in the United States, Japan, the UK and Sweden.
The other lower-level DNS servers maintain only parts of the total database of the
domains/addresses and are owned by businesses or ISPs (Internet Server Providers).
A DNS server can be any computer registered in the DNS system, running special DNS software,
which helps it resolve domain names to their appropriate hosts. Each DNS server features a public
IP address and includes a database of network names/addresses of other Internet hosts.
How do DNS Servers work?
The communication between users' computers and DNS servers is initiated as soon as you type a
website address (domain name) into a web browser. Then the browser, acting as a DNS client,
sends an immediate request to your ISP's DNS server(s), which search for the matching IP address
in its/their database. If no match is found, the DNS server automatically passes the request to
another lower-level DNS server or even to a root server, if necessary. As soon as the matching
domain name and IP address are located - the request’s response is transmitted back to your
browser through the DNS server network. This process is called forward DNS.
TYPES OF INTERNET ACCOUNTS
When you choose to use an ISP to get you connected to the internet, you will probably be given a
connection through a modem. Because IP was not designed to be used over dial-up lines, you will
require another protocol. a) SLIP & b) PPP
SLIP & PPP both allow IP data to be sent over dial-up modems. They work by taking IP data and
package it so that it can be sent over a modem.
SLIP (serial line protocol)
Serial line protocol (SLIP) is an older protocol (older than PPP) used to handle TCP/IP traffic over
a dial-up or other serial connection. SLIP is a physical layer protocol that doesn't provide error
checking. Such as modem error checking. It only supports the transmission of one protocol,
TCP/IP.
SLIP modifies a standard TCP/IP datagram by appending a special "SLIP END" character to it,
which distinguishes datagram boundaries in the byte stream. SLIP does not provide error detection
and relay on upper layer protocols for this. Therefore SLIP on its own is not satisfactory over an
error-prone dial-up connection.
PPP – POINT TO POINT PROTOCOL
It is a data link (layer) protocol commonly used to establish a direct connection i.e. send IP over
dial up lines between two networking nodes. Unlike SLIP it can provide connection authentication,
transmission encryption and data compression, Error detection or correction and packet
sequencing
UNIX SHELL ACCOUNT
Before PPP and SLIP accounts most internet accounts were text only (Not graphical) you used a
terminal emulation program on your PC to connect to the Internet host computer. This customer
account with an ISP allows the subscriber to enter UNIX commands to send and receive files and
mail. Basically a shell account gives you access to the ISP servers that have connection to the
internet.
ONLINE SERVICES
An online service is a commercial service that enables you to connect and access its proprietary
information system. Most online services also provide an internet connection, email, web access
and other internet services. Online services usually require special programs to connect to and use
your account. The two most common online services in the USA are America online and
CompuServe.
WHAT IS INTERNET?
Definition:
• The term Internet is an acronym that stands for International Network.
• It is defined as a world-wide computer network linking countless thousands of computer
networks, through a mixture of private and public data and telephone lines.
• Internet is just like a wide highway in a cyber space (space of electronic movement of data)
that moves data and information. Therefore, the terms Cyber Space and Information Super
Highway are frequently used to refer to Internet.
Administration of Internet - Who owns Internet?
• It is good to note that no single person is in charge of Internet. Each company/organization
manages its own network/s but there are agreed rules/protocols for connecting the networks
e.g. all networks should use TCP/IP protocols.
• The technical management of internet protocol is carried out by an Internet Society and the
International Standards for Organization (ISO). Internet has no political borders or boundaries
on the exchange of data and information.
Internet Connectivity
• To access and use Internet you must get connected.
Requirements:
– A computer, a PDA or WAP enabled mobile phones) – It is worthwhile to note that with
the dynamic growth of telephone and wireless technologies, it is now possible to use
cellular phones and Personal Digital Assistance (PDAs) to access information on
Internet just as you would use a computer.
– Transmission media – This is a physical (telephone line) or wireless (radio e.g. GPRS –
General Package Radio Service) pathway used to the medium for transferring
data/information from one computer to another.
– Internet Service Provider - These are licensed commercial or non-commercial
organizations that provide access to internet. Examples are Access Kenya, Swift Kenya,
Nairobi net, Africa online, Wananchi, Celtel, Safaricom etc.
Assignment: What are the factors to consider when choosing an ISP?
• MODEM (Modular-Demodulator) - Transforms digital data signals from a computer into
analog data signals (a form that can travel over the transmission media) and vice versa.
NB: Modern communication devices may not require the use of MODEMS.
• Software – The main categories of internet software are:
– Browser Software - This lets you access the Internet resources examples are Internet
explorer, Netscape Navigator, Opera, Monzila FireFox, Mosaic etc.
– Email Software enables you to receive, compose and send emails e.g. Outlook express,
Eudora Light, Pegasus Mail, Yahoo mail etc.
– Search Engines – These are search agent programs that enable one to quickly search
and access internet resources. They provide a catalogue of all information available
over the internet for quick access. They all provide a search form where one types key
words of the information he/she wants to access. Examples are: Yahoo, Google,
Inforseek, Alta Vista, Lycos etc.
Internet Connection Types
There are two principal ways of connecting to the Internet, that is; Direct and Dial – up
connection
1. Direct
– In this, the user has a fixed or dedicated link (physical line/wireless)to the ISP.
– Direct connections provide continuous, “always on” access to the Internet.
– A direct connection can be obtained in many ways e.g. Local Area Network (LAN) – A
LAN can be connected to the Internet through a special hardware component called a
router which is connected to another router at the ISP by a high-speed line.
Advantages:
– High speed connection
 – You do not need a modem but a router
– It is convenient as one does not have to keep on dialing up.
Disadvantage:
– It is expensive to maintain the connection
– Only economical for large corporation/organizations.
2. Dial-up
– In this you connect your computer by use of a modem and/or phone line/wireless only
when you want to use Internet.
– The user gains Internet access when he/she contact the ISP and the ISP transfers
him/her to Internet. When he/she finishes, they disconnect from the ISP. The speed
with which you can access the Internet is determined primarily by the speed of your
modem.
– To gain faster dial-up connections, you can install an Integrated Service Digital
Network (ISDN) line which is a digital line provided by the local phone company.
Advantage:
– Initial connection fee is less as compared to direct connection
– Cost can be controlled by reducing connection time
– Connection done only when there is a need
Disadvantages:
– May be disappointing in case of resource contention/traffic jam during dial up process
as one has to keep on dialing up.
Transfer Process and Address System of Internet
• Internet Transfer Process - A common communication protocol/rule is used worldwide for
convenient interchange of information between a computer and another over the Internet. This
Protocol is known as TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) protocol. This
was established by the U.S department of Defense and later became the standard protocol for
transfer of data over the Internet.
• Internet Address System - Every computer on the Internet has a unique address (IP address)
that identify the computer sending or receiving data. An example of an IP address is
192.168.11.70.
Domain Name System - IP address is composed of digits making it difficult for users to
remember. The IP addresses can therefore be translated into a domain (host) name address
which is easier to remember e.g. The above IP address may have its domain name equivalent
as: www.kaiboitech.ac.ke
The World Wide Web (WWW)
Definition: This refers to the interconnected set of hypertext and hypermedia documents
available via the internet. It is viewed as a vast virtual space on the Internet where information
pages called web pages are installed.
NB. Do not confuse the www with the internet. The internet is a global system of
interconnected computer network and the www is a service of the internet, which is a
collection of interconnected document and other resources linked by hyperlinks. Basically the
www is an application running on the internet.
Hypertext – This refers to text documents that contain links to other text documents liked
together forming a spider like web. Hypertext is basically the same as regular text that can be
stored, read, searched or edited.
Hypermedia – It is interconnected documents which contain links to not only text documents
but also linked to multimedia documents e.g. audio, movies/video, images/graphics etc.
Web Pages - This refers to hypertext and hypermedia documents containing information about
an individual or organization. A web page can be seen as a single screen of information which
may contain text, images, animation, sound, movies/video etc. Web pages are created using a
programming language called Hypertext Mark-UP Language (HTML) and viewed by use of
web browser programs e.g. Internet explorer.
Website: A collection of web pages containing related information about an individual
organization or institution stored as a file in special computer referred to as a Web Server.
These web pages are linked together by use of hyperlinks
 Hyperlink – An hyperlink refers to part of the web page (either text or graphic/picture) that
when clicked causes another web page to open. The web page opened could be one of the web
pages in the same web site or in a different web site. An hyperlink is usually underlined, blue
in color and when pointed using the mouse pointer, it causes the mouse pointer to change to a
palm/hand.
All WWW resources or website have a unique address known as the Uniform Resource
Locator (URL). URL is a standard way of referencing WWW resources e.g. web pages.
Generation of the WWW
A. Web 1.0
This refers to the first stage of the www linking WebPages with hyperlinks. This
began with the release of the www to the public in 1993.

WEB 1.0 DESIGN ELEMENTS

Some of the element of design of web 1.0 were
1. static pages instead of dynamic user generated content
2. it used framesets
3. it used tables to position and align elements on the page.
4. HTML form were sent via email.
B. Web 2.0
The term suggests a newer version of the www, it doesn’t refer to an update to any technical
specification but rather to cumulative changes in the ways software developers and users use the web.
The term web 2.0 was coined in the year 1999. it is associated with bed applications that facilitate
participatory information sharing, interoperability, user centered design and collaboration on the www.
A web 2.0 site allows users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialog as
creators of user generated content in contrast to websites where users were limited to passive viewing
of content that was created for them.
Examples of web 2.0 include social networking sites, blogs, wikis, video sharing sites etc
CHARACTERISTICS
 Rich user experience
 User participation
 Dynamic content
 Metadata (is data providing information about one or more aspects of data such as
means of creation of the data, purpose of the data, time and data, creator/author) &
 Scalability (ability of a system, network or a process to handle growing amounts of
work in a graceful manner, or its ability to be enlarged to accommodate that growth)
Concepts
Web 2.0 can be described in three parts;
1. Rich internet application – it defines the experience brought from desktop to browser.
2. service oriented architecture(SOA) it defines how web 2.0 applications expose its functionality
so that other application can use and integrate the functionality.
3. social web – it defines how web 2.0 tend to interact much more with the user and making the
end user an important part.
Features of Web 2.0
 Search, find information through keyword search
 Links, connects information together.
 Authoring; the ability to create and update content leads to collaborative work of many
rather than just a few web authors. Such as in wikis and blogs
 Tags - ccategorization of content by users adding "tags" which are short, usually one-
word descriptions - to facilitate searching
WORLD WIDE WEB COMPONENTS
The Structural Components of the www are:
 Clients/browsers
 Servers
 Internet – the global infrastructure which facilitates data transfer
The Semantic Components of the www are:
  Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
 Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML)
 Uniform Resource Locator (URI/L)
UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATORS - (URL)
It is an address through which one can access any site or documents distributed throughout the www.
It is a standard for specifying any kind of information on the internet. The URL defines four things;
protocol, host computer, port and path. As such
Protocol://Host:port/path e.g.
http://www.ruthwanjiru.com/notes/class.html
The protocol is the client or server program used to retrieve a document such FTP or HTTP.
The host is the computer on which the information is located
The URL can optionally contain the port number of the server. If the port is included it is inserted
between the host and the path. And is separated from the host by a colon (:)
Path is the pathname of the file where the information is located.
WEB BROWSER
A web browser or Internet browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and
traversing information resources on the World Wide Web.
An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier/locator (URI/L) and may be a
web page, image, video, or other piece of content. Hyperlinks present in resources enable users to
easily navigate their browsers to related resources.
Although browsers are primarily intended to access the World Wide Web, they can also be used to
access information provided by Web servers in private networks or files in file systems.
The primary purpose of a web browser is to bring information resources to the user.
Examples of web browsers: internet explorer, Mozilla Firefox, google chrome, opera, safari.
Features of web browsers
All major web browsers allow the user to open multiple information resources at the same time, either
in different browser windows or in different tabs of the same window.
Major browsers also include pop-up blockers to prevent unwanted windows from "popping up"
without the user's consent.
Most web browsers can display a list of web pages that the user has bookmarked so that the user can
quickly return to them. Bookmarks are also called "Favorites"
In addition, all major web browsers have some form of built-in web feed aggregator. In Mozilla
Firefox, web feeds are formatted as "live bookmarks" and behave like a folder of bookmarks
corresponding to recent entries in the feed.
User interface
Most major web browsers have these user interface elements in common:
-Back and forward buttons to go back to the previous resource and forward again.
-A history list, showing resources previously visited in a list
-A refresh or reload button to reload the current resource.
-A stop button to cancel loading the resource.
-A home button to return to the user's home page
-An address bar to input the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) of the desired resource and display it.
-A search bar to input terms into a search engine
-A status bar to display progress in loading the resource and also the URI of links when the cursor
hovers over them.
WEB SERVER
A web server can be referred to as either the hardware (the computer) or the software (the computer
application) that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet. The most common
use of Web servers is to host Web sites, but there are other uses like data storage or for running
business applications.
The primary function of a web server is to deliver web pages on the request to clients. This means
delivery of HTML documents and any additional content that may be included by a document, such as
images, style sheets and Java Scripts.
A client, commonly a web browser, initiates communication by making a request for a specific
resource using HTTP and the server responds with the content of that resource or an error message if
unable to do so. The resource is typically a real file on the server's secondary memory.
EXAMPLES OF WEB SERVERS
1. Apache
Apache, otherwise known as Apache HTTP Server, is an open-source web server platform. The
Apache Web server provides a full range of Web server features, including CGI, SSL, and virtual
domains. Apache also supports plug-in modules for extensibility. Apache is reliable, free, and
relatively easy to configure. The Apache server has been the most popular web server on the
Internet since April 1996.
2. Internet Information Server (IIS)
It is Microsoft's business-class Web server application. It is the most common web server after
apache.
IIS has the following features or modules; HTTP module, security module, content module,
compression module, caching module, diagnostic module
Structure of URL Address
Consists of two parts;
– A portion that specify the method of file access
– A portion that specify the Internet location of the file to be accessed;
E.g. http://www.kaiboitech.ac.ke
http:// - this part tells the type of file access that is permitted from the Internet. http stands for
Hypertext Transfer Protocol – a protocol/rule that tell how the information in www is to be
transmitted.
Other protocols are FTP://, GOPHER:// etc.
www.kaiboitech.ac.ke gives the address of the computer/host in the Internet containing the
website and the directory of the location of the file in the computer.
ACCESSING THE INTERNET
• Accessing Internet the is done through browsing the net/web
• Browsing/surfing refers to the process of accessing Internet resources from the WWW
websites.
This can be done basically in three ways:
• Typing a website URL address in the address bar on a browser window.
• Clicking on an hyperlink in an opened webpage to connect to another web page.
• Using a search engine agent program to quickly search for any information on the
web/net.
In our case, we will use the Internet Explorer (IE) browser window.
Loading IE Browser Window
Steps:
– Double click the Internet Explorer shortcut icon from the desktop
Or:
– Click on start menu from the desktop
– Point at programs from the pull up menu
– Click on Internet Explorer from the sidekick menu
The Internet Explorer browser window is displayed.
 IE Browser Window Features
1. Title Bar - Shows the title of the visited website.
2. Menu Bar - Provides menu options for manipulating the browser window and the web page
contents.
3. Navigation Bar - Provides commands for navigating the website.
4. Address Bar - Where the URL address of a website is typed.
5. Hyperlinks - When clicked, a hyperlink causes another web page to open.
6. Status Bar - Shows the opening progress of a web page.
7. Task Bar - Shows other programs running in your computer.
Loading a Website Using the URL Address
Steps:
• Click in Address bar. Type the URL address of the website to visit e.g. For the Ministry of
Education website type the following URL address in the address bar: www.education.go.ke.
• Press Enter key from the keyboard or click on the ‘Go’ command from the Navigation Bar.
• Wait as the home page is loaded. Look for the connection progress from the status bar.
NB: One must know the correct URL address to successfully load the intended website.
Using Hyperlinks While Browsing/Surfing
From the home page of a loaded website, one can access more information through hyperlink
that connects to the web page containing the required information.
Steps:
• Point at an hyperlink - Mouse pointer changes to a hand/palm
• Click and wait as the web page is displayed. In the status bar, see the loading progress e.g. to
read about the ICT Trust from the Ministry of Education website point & click on the ‘ICT
Trust’ hyperlink from the home page & wait to display web page on the left.
Using Search Engines to Search for Information from the Web/Net
Searching for information from the web may be tedious, frustrating and time wasting if one
does not know the techniques for quick search.
Steps:
• Type URL address of the Search Engine in the address bar. Press enter key from the keyboard
or click on ‘Go’ from the navigation toolbar e.g. www.google.co.ke for google search engine.
• Type the keyword on the search form text box on the homepage and then click on search/find.
See win 1 on left.
• Click the hyperlink that closely describes information you want from the list displayed. See
win 2 on left.
Search Tips
• By default the search engine tries to locate pages which have exact matches for all of the words
entered in your search form. If that fails, it then tries to locate pages which contain any words
in your search query. If that happens a short message is displayed at the top of the search
results indicating this has been done.
• In addition, there are several ways to modify the default search behavior.
1. Phrase Search
The search engine supports three types of phrase search.
• To match an exact phrase, use quotes around the phrase
Example: "free search engine“
• To match a near (within a couple of words) phrase, use square brackets [around the words]
Example: [free search engine]
• To match a far (within several words) phrase, use braces { around the words }
Example: {free search engine}
2. + and - qualifiers
If you precede a word with + that word is required to be on the page.
If you precede a word with - that word is required to not be on the page.
Example: +always, - never
3. * wildcard
If the word typed ends with a * all words on a page which start the same way as that form word
will match.
Example: gift*
4. ? wildcard
If the word typed contains a ? any character will match that position.
Example: b?g
5. Boolean search
You can use the following Boolean operators in your search: AND, OR, NOT. These operators
MUST be in capital letters.
Example: (contact AND us) OR (about AND us)
• All of these techniques can be combined: +alway* -ne??r*
Downloading/Saving/Printing Website Documents
• Downloading refers to the process of transferring information from a remote computer to a
local storage in your computer. This helps you to save the information for future retrieval.
• To download & save a web content, follow the steps below:
 Right click the hyperlink to the file
 Click on ‘Save Target AS’ command from the shortcut menu that appears
 Save as dialog box is displayed. Specify the folder/drive where to save the contents and
type a unique file name in the name box.
 Click on ‘Save’ command button. The download progress dialog box appears &
prompts you when through with the contents are fully downloaded.
• The download process may take some time depending on some factors like; the internet
download speed (band width) at that time, size of the document downloaded, your computer’s
specifications, internet ‘traffic jam’ etc.
• Downloaded web contents will require some application programs to have been installed in
your computer e.g. PDF files will require programs like Acrobat Reader to be installed in your
computer for you to read their contents.
To print web contents, open the file/web page and then send it for printing. Your computer
must be connected to a working printer. To Print, click on file menu – print – choose printer –
specify the number of copies to print – then click on print command button.
f) Electronic Mail (E-mail)
• Electronic Mail refers to the sending and receiving of electronic letters and documents on the
Internet.
Advantages Over the Traditional Paper Mail/‘Snail Mail’
– It is fast
– It is cheap
– It is convenient
– Easy to send one mail to many recipients by use of carbon copies
– Mail can be saved for future retrieval
– Easy to reply mails
– Mails can easily be forwarded to another recipient
– Document created using other application can easily be attached to the mail etc.
– Reliable if all email etiquette and netiquette is observed.
 Disadvantages
– Security of message may not be guaranteed – due to tapping while on transit.
– Not yet accessible to everybody due to the connectivity limitations
– Requires some ICT literacy to use and enjoy
– It is boring to read ‘junk mails’
E-mail Address
• For one to send and receive an email, he/she must have an email address.
• Email address directs the computers on the Internet on where to deliver the email message.
• A typical email address has this format: [email protected] e.g.
[email protected] i.e. the email parts are:
– Pekyalo – This is the user name that identifies the owner of the email address.
– @ - Separates the username from the rest of the address parts
– Yahoo – The name of the host computer on the Internet in to which the email account is
hosted.
– The period (.) – read as dot. Separates different parts of the email address.
– Com – The domain. Identifies the type of Institution that owns the host computer.
Commonly Used Domains
– .com – commercial organizations (www.safaricom.com )
– .co – company/commercial organization ( www.airtel.co.ke )
– .org – NGOs (www.worldvision.org.ke )
– .go – government (www.pcsr.go.ke )
– .edu – educational institution (www.mmu.edu.ke )
– .ac – academic/educational institution etc ((www.mmu.ac.ke )
– Country Domains are:
– .ke – Kenya – .uk – United Kingdom
– .tz – Tanzania – .ug - Uganda
 LOG ON/SIGN IN
• Load the e-mail program that you are using e.g. for yahoo mail account holders, type
‘www.mail.yahoo.com’ in address bar of your browser to load the mail program.
• In the username text box, type your user name .e.g. jepkemboi
• In the password text box, type the password. The password appears encrypted for security.
• Click on Sign in command button and wait as your mails window is opened
Composing and sending Email
Steps:
• Load email application program/Email Editor
• Log in/Sign in if required by typing your user name and password.
• Click on compose command button – mail editor window appears as shown on the left.
• Type email address of the recipient in the TO: text box.
• To send Carbon Copies (Cc) & Blind Carbon Copies (Bcc) type the addresses in the Cc: & Bcc:
textboxes respectively. Separate two or more addresses by commas. Bcc recipients don’t see the
identity of other recipients.
• Type the subject/title of your message in the Subject: text box.
• Type the message and format it as you want in the message text area.
• Click on send command button to send mail.
• The computer confirms on sending the mail.
Receiving/Replying/Forwarding mail
Steps:
• Load email application program/Email Editor
• Log/sign in if required to access your email account by supplying your username and password.
• Click on ‘check mail’ command button
• Click on Inbox to view the mails received as shown on the left.
• To read a mail, click on its subject/title from the list of received mails. To read an attachment, click
on the attachment icon & follow the instructions that follow.
• To reply the mail, simply click on Reply tab/command and type the reply message then click on
send command to send it.
• To forward the mail, click on ‘Forward’ tab, type the address of the person whom you want to
forward the mail to, click on send.
File Attachment
Steps:
• Load email application program/Email Editor
• Log in or sign in as expected to access your account by supplying your username and password.
• Compose your mail as usual.
• Click on Attach Files command button.
• From the dialog box that appears, browse to specify the file/s to attach from your computer.
• Click on Open command button from the ‘Choose file’ dialog box after choosing the file to attach.
• The attachment progress bar appears. Wait as the file/s is/are attached to you mail.
• An attachment bar is inserted in the mail window with the name of the attached file.
• Click on send command to send the mail.
Saving an E-mail
a) With the mail window opened, click on file menu
b) Click on save as from the pull down menu
c) Select the location to save the mail and type the file name
d) Click on save
Deleting and Spamming mails
a) From the inbox window, select the mail to delete or spam
b) Click on the delete or spam command button to delete or spam the mail
NB: For deleting, confirm the deletion
Printing Mails
a) Open the mail that you want to print
b) Click on the file menu
c) Click on print from the pull down menu
d) Specify the printer and the number of copies
e) Click on print.
Sign Out/Log Off
• Once you have read your mail, it is advisable to sign out or log off to ensure that unauthorized
users do not read the mail.
• To sign out or log off, click on the sign out or log off command button.
EMERGING TRENDS AND ISSUES IN ICT
a) Emerging trends and issues in ICT
b) Challenges posed by the emerging issues in ICT
c)Coping with challenges posed by the emerging issues in ICT