The basic principle of working of computer System includes Input-Process-Output.
Let us have a look on example of by assembly line of Automobile Manufacture Company. In Manufacture Company, the raw materials are forwarded to the assembling unit. This activity constitutes the Input part of the cycle. The process is the actual building of the automobile. There the process acts upon what has been the input and produces the Output, which in this case would be the finished automobile.
Like all other activities, a computer system follows the Input-process-Output or I-P-O cycle.
Let’s elaborate with another example of an airline, a person who wishes to travel by airline between London and New York first he has to fill in a request slip for the reservation. This slip contains relevant information data of a person, i.e., name, age, place of destination, etc. The booking clerk keys in the data from the request slip into the computer. The process in this case includes examining the flight number, the date of the journey, the class requested and determining whether seats are available as per the reservation details. The output of this process is some information confirming the booking, if seats are available, otherwise, the computer turning down the request may issue message.
Now, let us see how each component of the PC system is related to the I-P-O cycle. The data in the request slip is input data for the input in computer which is given through the keyboard. Hence, the keyboard is an input device. The processing is performed by a component of the system unit called the Microprocessor. The information reading availability of seats is displayed on the VDU. Hence, the VDU is an Output Device. As mentioned earlier, the term hardware comprises the input and Output Devices along with the system unit.
The Computer System is basically divided into two Portions:
- Computer Hardware
- Computer Software