Information Technology Workbook
1 Data, information, and systems
Computers were commercialized more than 50 years ago. The first machines
of this type were named "computers" because they were envisioned by their
designers as "automatic" calculators. But since their invention
and mass-production their use has expanded far beyond
manipulating numbers. A better name
for computers would be information appliances. In the modern
world computers are usually linked together to capture, access, and share
information that can consist of text, numbers, sounds, or pictures.
A business computer system consists of the machinery itself
(hardware) and programs that direct the action of the machinery
(software). The same computing machinery can do many different
types of tasks as governed by software. The combination of hardware
and software is called a system. Systems are usually named by
the function they are designed to perform.
Three major classes of computer system exist:
transaction processing systems, batch systems,
personal productivity/office automation systems.
Each of these types of
systems can be further broken down into various categories according
to intended use. The main
goal of this chapter is to help you understand these different types
of computer systems and their purpose.
1.1 Transaction processing and batch processing
1.2 Office automation
1.3 Data warehousing... beyond batch reporting!
1.4 Codes of ethics for information systems professionals
1.5 Personal computers in public places: some dangers
51 lecture slides (this is the first of two slide sets made available online; .ppt in a zipped file, 2.4 Mb)
Workbook chapter 1 (this is the first of two chapters provided online; .pdf file, 6.1 Mb)
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