Computer Fundamentals and Basics
Computer Fundamentals and Basics covers the vocabulary and arithmetic of computing: how data is represented, how computers evolved, what memory units mean, and how software and operating systems are classified. RSMSSB Computor questions here are usually direct definitions plus one small conversion or classification.
Data representation and units
- A bit is one binary digit; a nibble is 4 bits; a byte is 8 bits.
- Binary base 2 uses 0-1; octal base 8 uses 0-7; decimal base 10; hexadecimal base 16 uses 0-9 and A-F.
- In exam memory units, 1 KB = 1024 bytes, 1 MB = 1024 KB, 1 GB = 1024 MB, 1 TB = 1024 GB.
Generations and software
- First generation: vacuum tubes, machine language. Second: transistors, assembly. Third: integrated circuits, high-level languages. Fourth: microprocessors, GUI and PCs. Fifth: AI and parallel processing.
- System software includes operating systems, device drivers, and language translators; application software includes word processors and spreadsheets. An operating system manages memory, files, processes, and devices.
Worked example
Convert decimal 45 to binary and hexadecimal. Divide repeatedly by 2 and record remainders: 45/2=22 r1, 22/2=11 r0, 11/2=5 r1, 5/2=2 r1, 2/2=1 r0, 1/2=0 r1. Reading remainders upward gives 101101. For hexadecimal, group binary from the right into fours: 0010 1101, which is 2 and 13(D), so 2D. The reasoning is positional: each group of four bits equals one hex digit.
Traps
Do not use 1000 for KB in exam questions; do not call GUI an operating system; do not say ROM is volatile; and do not confuse a bit with a byte when a question mentions download speed or storage. First-generation computers used machine language, not C.