Information Technology

Preface 1 The Information Revolution 1.1 The New Age 1.2 How the Information Revolution Began 1.3 The Impact of Microchips 1.4 The Information Explosion 1.5 The Information Factory 1.6 The Information Processing Operations 1.7 Definition of Information Technology 1.8 Applications of IT 1.9 Analogue and Digital Systems 1.10 Systems Theory 1.11 Output Standards 1.12 The Information Processing System 1.13 Sub-Optimization 1.14 System Boundaries 1.15 Systems Analysis 2 Computers 2.1 What is a Computer? 2.2 Computer Hardware 2.3 Microprocessors 2.4 How a Microprocessor Handles Information 2.5 Binary Numbers 2.6 Microprocessors and Logic 2.7 The AND Operator 2.8 The AND Gate 2.9 The OR Operator 2.10 The NOT Operator 2.11 Combining Logical Operators 2.12 Arithmetic and Logic 2.13 Logic Circuits 2.14 Microprocessors and Computers 2.15 The Z80 Microprocessor 2.16 The 680x0 Family of Microprocessors 2.17 The 80x86 Family of Microprocessors 2.18 RISC Microprocessors 2.19 The Transputer 2.20 Neural Networks 2.21 Digital Signal Processors 2.22 Processing Speeds 2.23 Computer Memory 2.24 Random Access Memory 2.25 Read Only Memory 2.26 The Memory Map 2.27 Types of Computer 2.28 Computer Generations 2.29 The Evolution of the Personal Computer 2.30 The IBM PC 2.31 The Clones and the Add-Ons 2.32 The IBM AT 2.33 The Apple Macintosh 2.34 The IBM PS/2 2.35 Portable Computers 2.36 Computer Buses 3 Peripherals 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Input Devices 3.3 The Keyboard 3.4 The Mouse 3.5 Character-Recognition Devices 3.6 The Microphone 3.7 Video Cameras and Scanners 3.8 Other Input Devices 3.9 Storage Devices 3.10 Floppy Disks 3.11 Hard Disks 3.12 Optical (Compact) Discs 3.13 Output Devices - Monitors 3.14 Cathode Ray Tubes 3.15 Flat Screens 3.16 Output Devices - Printers 3.17 Dot Matrix Printers 3.18 Ink-Jet Printers 3.19 Daisy Wheel Printers 3.20 Laser Printers 3.21 Plotters 3.22 Communications Devices and Connectivity 4 Languages and Programs 4.1 The Importance of Software 4.2 What is Software? 4.3 How Software Works 4.4 Programming Languages 4.5 FORTRAN 4.6 BASIC 4.7 COBOL 4.8 PROLOG 4.9 Fourth Generation Programming Languages 4.10 Program Generators 4.11 Programming 4.12 Structured Programming 4.13 Flowcharts 4.14 A BASIC Program 4.15 A Structured Program 5 System Software 5.1 What is System Software? 5.2 Operating Systems 5.3 How the Operating System Organizes the Disk 5.4 Directories 5.5 Naming Files 5.6 Operating System Commands 5.7 Setting the Current Drive 5.8 Displaying the Contents of a Directory 5.9 Changing Directories 5.10 Changing to the Root Directory 5.11 Renaming, Copying, and Deleting Files 5.12 Wildcards 5.13 Making and Removing Directories 5.14 Operating Environments 5.15 GEM 5.16 Running Applications Within the Mac/GEM Environments 5.17 Windows 5.18 Other Environments for PCs 5.19 Utilities 6 Application Software 6.1 What is an Application Package? 6.2 The Main Application Areas 6.3 Features of Application Packages 6.4 Macro Languages 6.5 Example of an Application Package 6.6 Office Automation Software 6.7 Database Software 6.8 Client/Server Database Architecture 6.9 Record-Keeping Concepts 6.10 Record-Keeping Tasks 6.11 Database Applications 6.12 Spreadsheet Software 6.13 Spreadsheet Concepts 6.14 Moving around The Worksheet 6.15 Spreadsheet Tasks 6.16 Spreadsheets and Databases Compared 6.17 Spreadsheet Applications 6.