Basics of IT Unit 1

Unit 1 Basics of IT
Structure:
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 What Is Information Technology?
1.3 Data Processing System
1.4 Information
1.4.1 Environmental Information comprises
1.4.2 Competitive Information
1.4.3 Internal Information
1.4.4 Characteristics of Information
1.4.5 Properties and Scope of Information
1.4.6 Types of Information Systems
1.5 Types of Information Computing Models
1.5.1 Wide Area Network or WAN
1.5.2 Client / Server
1.6 Internet

1.0 Introduction
Information and communication are without doubt two key words that
represent global activity. The communication of the right information at the
right time in a convenient form can cause new directions in Business,
Research and Industrial decisions.

In this unit we will discuss the concept of information, data, information and
its attributes. The business managers of today cannot possibly assimilate
the flood of facts and figures, which confront them. It has been frequently
observed that the manager is surrounded by huge amount of data, but lacks

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the necessary information, which must be readily available to work in an

effective way.

1.1 Objectives
At the end of this unit you should be able to:
 Understand the term Information Technology
 Explain the features of Information Society
 Define Information and knowledge
 Identify type of information and scope

1.2 What Is Information Technology?

Information is a vital resource in development activities of any society. All
our economic and social progress depends very significantly in the transfer
of commercial, scientific and technical information. People in different
situations require information on a subject in different forms and with
different emphasis.

Information is obtained through processing of data. The storage, retrieval

and processing of data become the essential resource for all economic and
social exchanges.

Data is the recording of any meaningful event in any understandable form.

The methods used to collect and store the data, process the data into
information and communicate the information all over the world is
Information Technology.

This technology is a revolution sweeping across the world. It is interesting to

know that 75% of all information generated in the entire history of mankind
has been generated in the last 30 years.

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Data, Instruction and Information

Let us now take a detailed look into the meaning of data and information.
We are aware that many events occur in organizations on a continuous
basis. Some machine part is produced, some material arrives, and the bill is
paid. These are all examples of events that take place in organizations.
Many of the events that occur are significant or meaningful to the
organization. When an event is significant or meaningful, we record it. Data
is nothing but the facts and figures that record meaningful events occurring
in an organization.

Information on the other hand is processed data. Data is the raw material for
producing information. Information is the basis on which executives take
decisions. Though we can conceptually differentiate between data and
information there is no strict demarcation between these two. What is data
to one person could well be information to another. Data is processed
according to requirements and suitable instructions that are given.

1.3 Data Processing System

INPUT DEVICE PROCESSING OUTPUT

UNIT DEVICES.

Methodology Result

Program
Operations or Desired
Calculations output
Data

Data : “Data is raw fact and figure which helps to process to produce the
Information.”
Example : for raw figure : 100, +50, -250, etc.

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For raw fact : Name, City Name, Age, Roll No etc.

Information = Instruction + Data.
Instruction
Example : 100 + 200 = 300 Information
Raw Data

1.4 Information
Information is defined as processed data. E.g. marks of 50 students is data
and highest or lowest marks is information.

Today advanced technology is available in the area of information

management.

Information: Second important element in any managerial information

system is the information system is the information.

“Information can be defined as data that has been processed into a form
that is meaningful to the recipient and is of real or perceived value in current
or prospective decisions”.
OR
“Information refers to an input of data processing which is organized and
meaningful to the person who receives it”.

For example, data concerning a sale may indicate the number of the
salesman. When a large number of such data elements is organized and
analyzed, it may provide important information to a marketing director who is
attempting to evaluate his sales force. Also if a production manager is told
that, not only the production is behind schedule but also it is 75% of the
schedule target is information to him.

In general, the planning information requirements of executives can be

categorized into three broad categories viz…

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a) Environmental Information
b) Competitive Information
c) Internal Information.

1.4.1 Environmental Information comprises the following

i) Government Policies Information about concessions, benefits
government policies in respect of tax concessions or for any other
aspect, which may be useful to an organization in the future period.
ii) Factors of Production: Information related with source, cost, location,
availability, accessibility and productivity of the major factors of
production viz Capital, Labour, Material etc.
iii) Technological Environment: Forecast of any technological changes in
the industry and the probable effect of it on the firm.
iv) Economic trends: It includes information relating to economic
indicators like consumers disposable income, employment,
productivity, capital investment etc.

1.4.2 Competitive Information: includes the following information:

i) Industry demand: Demand forecast of the industry in respect of the
product manufactured and in the area in which the firm used to be
operating.
ii) Firm Demand Assessment of the firms product demand in the
specified market. It also includes an assessment of firm’s capability to
meet firm’s demand.
iii) The competitive data: Data of compelling firm for forecasting and
making decision and plans to achieve the forecast.

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1.4.3 Internal Information: It includes the information concerning concern’s

are:
i) Sales forecast
ii) The financial plan/budget
iii) Supply factors, and
iv) Policies, which are vital for subsidiary planning at all levels in the
organization.

Level of Information: Information within an organization can be analyzed into

3 levels.

Strategic Information
Top

Tactical Information
Middle

Operational Information in the diagram

Lower

a) Strategic Information: is used by senior managers or top management

to plan the objectives of their organization, and to assess whether the
objectives are being met in practice. Such information includes overall
profitability, the profitability of different segments of the business, future
market prospects, the availability and cost of raising new funds, total
cash needs, total management levels and capital equipment needs, etc.
although internally generated information will always be used.
Information requirements of top management are met by strategic
information tier by arranging information from internal and external
sources.
b) Tactical Information: is used by middle management to ensure that the
resources of the business are employed to achieve the strategic

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objectives of the organization. Such information includes productivity

measurement output per on an - hour or per machine – hour, budgetary
control or variance analysis reports and cash flow forecasts, managing
levels and profit results within a particular department of the
organization, labour turnover statistics within a department, short term
purchasing requirements etc. A large proportion of this information will
be generated from within the organization as a feedback. Tactical
information is usually prepared regularly and it is used for the decision
making referred to as management control.
Another important function of tactical level is to supply information to
strategic tier for the use of top management. This tier collects the
required information from strategic and operational tiers and thus serves
as a bridge between strategic and operational tiers of information.
c) Operational Information: is used by operation level of management
(front – line manager) such as foremen or head clerks to ensure that
specific tasks are planned and carried out properly within a factory or
office etc. In the payroll system, for example, operational information
relating to day rate labour will include the hours worked each week by
each employee, his rate of pay per hour, details of his deductions, and
for the purpose of wages analysis, details of the time each man spent on
individual jobs during the week. In this example, the information is
required weekly.
Operational information relates to the level of decision – making referred to
as operational control. Operational level requires information for
implementing and regulating operational plans for the purpose of conversion
of inputs into outputs. Also it supplies routine and other information to
tactical tier in summarized form.

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1.4.4 Characteristics of Information

Important characteristics of useful and effective information are as
follows:
i) Accuracy: Information, if it is to be value should be accurate and should
be truly reflects the situation or behavior of an event as it really is.
Otherwise the user will take the incorrect information as correct and may
use it for decision – making with a disastrous result.
ii) Form Information : Is of value if it is provided to the user in the form it is
useful and best understood by him.
iii) Relevance : It refers to current utility of information in decision making
or problem solving.
iv) Timeliness : It means that information should be made available when it
is needed for a particular purpose and not before and in any case not
after. Delayed information has far less value as a resource.
v) Completeness : Information is considered as complete if it tells its user
all what he wishes to know about a particular situation/problem. The
more than completeness of information the higher is its value.
vi) Purpose : Information must have purpose at the time it is transmitted to
a person or machine, otherwise it is simply data. The basic purpose of
information is to inform, evaluate, persuade or organize other
information, create new concepts, identify problems, solve problems,
decision making, planning, initializing, controlling and searching.
vii) Reliability: The information should be reliable and external force relied
upon indicated.
viii) Validity: It measures the closeness of the information to the purpose
which it purports to serve.

1.4.5 Properties and Scope of Information

Information has these general properties:
 Information is not consumed in use. This is an extremely important
property of information.

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 It can be shared by many and can be used simultaneously without any

loss to anyone.

The scope of information can vary .It can be in detail or in summary form. It
can either be a complete set of data or only specific exceptions. We would
appreciate that the scope would vary depending on the level of
management the information is aimed at.

Concreteness is another quality of information. Information could be hard or

objective, relying heavily on facts. It could also be soft or subjective, relying
more on intuition, judgement or even hunch. Both hard and soft information
have a rightful place in information systems.

No organization has hundred percent exact information, it does not really

need it. Very often we work with approximate information. Sometimes even
estimates help in the process. Therefore the accuracy of information can
vary from exact to approximate, depending on the requirement of the
situation.

Sometimes we deliberately build in redundancy into information we present.

A sales analysis may contain the regionwise sales figures and the
regionwise sales percentages, as a graphical representation of the same
information. Though this is a repetition we agree that it adds to the impact of
the information presented. Information may relate to history, the near past,
the present, the near future and the future. That is, we say information has a
horizon. Past information helps in forecasting the future.

Information Economics
Information is an available resource in any organization. However the
preparation of formal information is not free; it costs money. How much
should an organization spend for information? Some type of a cost -effective
analysis should be undertaken.

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Difficulties occur in measuring the cost of providing the information and

measuring the value of information. Information is theoretical in nature and
possibly has hardly any tangible characteristics except symbolic
representations. Main aspects of information economics are cost and value.

Cost of Information
An information system is a key place for information generation storage and
use. With the advances in information technology they are increasingly used
in day-to- day applications. So the cost of operation of information system is:

Hardware Cost: This is normally a fixed or one time cost over a relevant
range. In case of computer based information system, with the development
in technology -hardware costs are coming down drastically.

System Analysis. Design and implementation cost: This is also a one time
cost. This function includes formulating a methodology for overall electronic
data processing procedure. This should include the cost for preparation of
programs and purchase of software.

Cost for Space and Environmental Control Factors: This cost may vary from
time to time. Examples of this cost are floor space, air-conditioning, power
control units, generator, security.

Operation Costs: This is basically a variable cost and includes costs of

personnel, systems maintenance, supplies and support facilities.

Value of Information
Information must primarily possess virtues of relevance, availability and
timeliness, to have value and thus to qualify as information. Measure of
quality is validity, accuracy and precision of information provided. Even if
information is presented in such a way as to be transmitted efficiently and
interpreted correctly, it may not be used effectively. The quality of

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information is determined by how it motivates human action and contributes

to effective decision making.

Information System
An information system can be simply defined as the interaction of man and
machine, which, under man's control, gathers data and broadcasts
information. The main objective of such a system is to provide information to
its user. To accomplish this, the data must be evaluated, analysed and
processed to produce meaningful and useful information. Information
systems playa very important role in modern economy. They inform us of
opportunities and problems well in advance.

An Information system is the basis for interaction between the user and the
analyst. At this point we can, define information system as a set of devices,
procedures and operating systems, designed around user-based criteria to
produce information and communicate it to the user for planning, control and
performance.

1.4.6 Types of Information Systems

Different types of information systems have been developed to meet a
variety of business needs. These systems are collectively known as
computer based information systems. As we have different types of
transportation systems like railway systems, highway systems and airline
systems, computer based information systems are of many types. They are
classified as Office automation systems (GAS), Transaction Processing
Systems (TPS) etc.

Office Automation System

Office Automation Systems are among the newest and most rapidly
expanding computer based information systems. They are being used in
most of the organisations with the expectations that they will increase the
efficiency and productivity of office workers.

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Transaction Processing System

It refers to the traditional applications of computers like invoicing, billing,
order entry, dispatch etc. In all these applications, any single transaction like
raising an invoice, accepting an order, shipping an item, receipt of an item
etc. would need an updating of multiple data sources. Transaction
processing can be on- line, off-line or real-time.

The changing employment scene the world over brings this development
into sharper focus. Services include banking, finance, health care,
entertainment, travel, tourism and education. All these sectors depend
heavily on the information service for their survival. Consequently the share
of total business by Information Technology (IT) is increasing day by day. It
is clear that Information processing will be the dominant industry of the 21st
century.

1.5 Types of Information Computing Models

Several computing models have been used to provide timely information to
managers in an organization. Currently the information system is organized
as a Network (Local Area Network or Wide Area Network) using File/Server
technology. In order to support large data access, the Client/Server
technology is used.

Local Area Network or LAN is a communication facility that covers a

limited geographical area (such as within the same building) and
interconnects in an effective manner with different types of computers. The
computers are usually within 100 to 300 meters.

1.5.1 Wide Area Network or WAN is a wide area communications facility

that covers a wider geographical area- ranging from a few kilometers to
around the globe and supported by transport media such as terrestrial
microwave link, satellite, modems, network control centers etc.

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File / Server
For sharing data in a LAN (Local Area Network), the user stores files on a
file server. A file server is a central node that stores data files where all
users can access them.

The file server in a LAN acts as a central hub for sharing peripherals like
printers, print queues, and modems. In a LAN, an application running on
workstation (a PC connected to the LAN) reads and writes files on the file
server. In many cases entire files are transferred across the network on
behalf of the operations taking place on LAN PCs. A file server is not
involved in processing of an application. It simply stores files for applications
that run on LAN PCs.

For e.g. you might have a personal database manager on your LAN PC.
First, you start your personal database manager and then request
information in a file on the file server. The file server sends all or part of the
data file across the network to your workstation. As you work with your
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personal database manager and the database on your workstation, the file
server does not take part in the activity at all. When you save the file, you
copy the data file back to the file server across the network.

Unfortunately, the built-in design of the LAN/File server computing model as

shown in figure 1.1 prevents it from adequately servicing demanding multi-
user, shared- data applications that can be supported easily by mainframes.
Two flaws limit a file server system for multi-user applications. First, the file
server model does not deliver the data concurrently (simultaneous access to
a single data set by multiple users) that is required frequently by multi-user
applications. The reason behind it is that the file server operates in files,
which are quite large data sets and prevent a user from sharing c. file when
another user has it locked out. Second, if many workstations request and
send many files in a LAN, the network can quickly become saturated with
traffic, which brings down the performance of the system.

1.5.2 Client / Server

The Client/Server system delivers the benefits of the network-computing
model along with the stored data access. Any local area network could be
considered as client/server system, since the workstations (clients) request
services such as data, program files, or printing from server. A client/server
(CIS) has three distinct components, each focusing on a specific job: a
database server, a client application and a network. The Figure 1.2 gives an
idea about the components of the client/server-computing model.

A server (or "back end") gives stress on efficiently managing a resource

such as a database of information. Its main job is to manage its resource
optimally among various clients that concurrently request the server for the
same resource.

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Database servers mainly concentrate on the following tasks:

 Managing a single database of information among many concurrent
users.
 Controlling database access and other security requirements.
 Protecting database of information with backup and recovery features.
 Centrally enforcing global data integrity rules across all client
applications.

A client application (the "front end"} is the part of the system that users
apply to interact with data. The client applications in a Client/Server
database system focus on the following job:
 Presenting an interface a user can interact with to complete the job.
 Managing presentation logic such as pop up lists on a data entry form.
 Performing application logic, such as calculating fields in or data entry
form.
 Validating data entry.
 Requesting and receiving information from a database server.
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The last component is a network. The network and communication software

is the vehicle that transmits data between the clients and the server in a
system.

Why a client/server system is better?

A client/server system can deliver better results than a file server system
because a client application and a database server work together to split the
processing load of an application. The server manages the database among
various clients, while the clients send, request and analyze the data they
receive from the server. In a client/server application, the client application
works with small specific data sets, such as rows in a table -not files, as in
the file server system. A database server is intelligent, as it can lock and
return only the rows requested by a client. This ensures simultaneous us of
the same database by many clients, minimizes network traffic and improves
system performance as a whole.

Several benefits of the client/server model stem from the fact that the client
and server portions of a system usually run on separate computers. First,
each computer in the system can be selected to best meet the requirements
of each component. For example, it is best to use a computer with powerful
processors and lots of disk space and memory to run the database server.
This way, the server can store large amounts of data and adequately handle
many simultaneous client requests. In contrast, it is best to use a less
expensive computer with minimal disk storage and memory, a mouse, and
excellent graphics capabilities to run the client application. This way, a
company can inexpensively equip scores of users with a productive, easy-
to-use tool to enter and analyze data.

Second, the system is very responsive and flexible to all the inevitable types
of hardware and software changes. For example, suppose a new type of
computer becomes available that delivers twice the computing performance

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of a system's current server at half the price. In a client/server system, it is

easy to take out the old server and plug in the new one without disturbing
the functionality of client applications or the productivity of users.

Third, it is easy to scale the system to accommodate changes in a

workgroup. or example, when a department hires several new workers, they
can immediately plug into the network system with new client workstations.

1.6 Internet
Introduction and use
The Internet is "a network of networks". It is a global collection of high-
powered computers that are connected to each other with network cables,
telephone lines, microwave dishes, satellites etc. Each computer on the
Internet stores documents, sound files, video clips, program files, electronic
shopping centers, animations, pictures, interactive contents and other things
that can be stored and presented electronically. All these resources are
available to the computer, which connects to the Internet.

Any person who is connected to the Internet is connected to your computer.

You can communicate with anyone on the Internet by sending e-mail,
posting messages in newsgroups, chatting in various chat areas, and even
telephoning and video-conferencing over the Net.

A Network of Networks
The Internet is a network of Wide Area Network. In a corporate wide Area
Network, each department has a Local Area Network that allows sharing of
files, database, printer and other peripheral devices.

In a network Data must be safely transferred from one destination to the

other. Each destination will have a specific address. For the safe transfer of
data the rules namely TCP/IP are implemented in the Network software -
Transfer Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP). TCP is
responsible for breaking up large batch of data into little data packets. IP is
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responsible for packing the destination address information in these

packets. An Internet address in the Internet has the following format, office
@ mahe. ernet. in

username domain

Basic terminologies of the "Net" language:

Cyberspace : The computer world.
Web site: The electronic storefront.
Web Browser: The software to glide through the network. e.g. Netscape,
Internet Explorer etc.
HomePage : The introductory screen.
HTML: Hyper Text Manipulation Language. A Language for the home page.
Protocol: Set of rules framed for transmission on the net. eg. TCP/IP, SLIP,
PPP.
HTTP : Hypertext transfer Protocol. This is how the WWW (World Wide
Web) pages are transferred over the net.

Getting Connected:
The basic requirements are a 386 computer or above, a telephone line, and
a modem. A computer is connected through a modem (the signal
transmission is over a telephone line.) to a service provider. In India, the
service provider is VSNL -Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited at Mumbai.

The software requirements would be the browser (Internet Explorer,

Netscape, etc.) Every user has a unique address and a password to provide
access to the web.

What the Internet can do for us:

 E-MAIL: The most popular service on the net is the E-Mail. One can use
it for anything where paper and telephone would otherwise have been
used.

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 World Wide Web: This allows the user to jump from one location on the
Internet to another. Using a popular software interface such as Internet
Explorer or Netscape, a user could access any document on the net and
have access to graphics, text, sound and video.
 Browser: Using a "Browser" (e.g. Netscape, Internet Explorer etc.) one
can access a hyperlinked database of text, pictures, sound and even
animation.
 File Transfer Protocol (FTP): Files related to lawyer's case studies,
budget matters, cricket statistic, etc., just about anything any database
you would want to access or any non confidential file that is stored in the
net can be retrieved. All you need is an account name on the host
computer and the password to that particular account.
 Veronica: If you want information on Jeans, you could use the Very Easy
Rodent Oriented Netwide Index to Computer Archives or simply
VERONICA.

Internet Service Providers/Access: VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam

Limited) is one of the main service providers. There are many other
providers in the private sectors as we ii who are now spreading the net. One
can have a choice of two kinds of accesses. The "Shell" account or TCP/IP
/SLIP / PPP account. Dial- up connection or leased line connection.

Dial-Up: A means of connecting to the Internet or any other computer

through modem. A dial-up connection simply means that when you want to
access the internet, your modem dials a host computer and you are connect
to the Internet; When you are done, just hang up the modem to free the
phone line. Dial-up access means your phone line is only tied up while you
are actually using the Internet. This means you do not need expensive and
complex hardware like a high speed leased phone line, terminal server,
router or a Unix computer system to have a Dial-Up access.

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Leased-Line: Also called dedicated connection. As the name says it is like

running a physical cable from receiver to the sender. For this you need a
terminal server, router and other equipment.

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network): This bridges the gap between
the personal dial-up connection and the dedicated connection by allowing
fast access over inexpensive phone lines.

SLIP (Serial Line Interrupt Protocol) / PPP (Point to Point Protocol):

Dial-up internet protocol links such as serial line internet protocol (SLIP) and
Point to point protocol to make your computer a direct part of the Internet
while you are on-line. You can run Networking applications for electronic
mail, FTP, Gopher, Telnet and other tools locally from your personal
computer.

Communication on Internet:
One of the reasons why Internet has become so popular is that its benefits
can be harnessed commercially. E.g. A leading manufacturer of cars can
put his entire stock on the Internet which enables the user to choose the
model, color, tyres etc. of his choice, give his credit card number and have it
delivered at a place of his choice.

Leading software manufacturers put their demo packages on the Internet

which enables developers to get a first hand feel of the software which they
may subsequently choose to purchase.

But, with growing applications and reach, Internet is also growing to be a

very economical and effective choice for advertisers.

Exercises:
1. Define term Data, Instruction and Information.
2. Discuss the Levels of Information used in an organization.
3. Explain the characteristics of Information.
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4. Discuss the scope of Information.

5. Write short notes on:
a) Office Automatics System.
b) Transaction Processing System.
c) File/Server System.
d) E-mail & www.

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