Information Processingby Mrs. Beverly Vialva-Smith

Objective 1: Distinguish between data and information

Recall,Data – raw facts and figures that have

not been processed and have no meaning.

Information – data that has been processed and has meaning.

The Computer System:The Information Processing cycle (IPC)

INPUTDATA

OUTPUTINFORMATIO

N

PROCESSINGCPU

STORAGEPRIMARY & SECONDARY

Scenario:Jenny is using a word processing

software.She presses a key on the keyboard and

the character code is sent electronically to the CPU. The CPU carries out the instructions contained in the software, and the character appears on the screen in the right place.

Q: Can you classify this scenario into input, processing, output and storage?

INPUT:She presses a key on the keyboard and the character code is sent electronically to the Central Processing Unit.

PROCESSING:The CPU carries out the instructions contained in the software.

STORAGE:The character is temporarily stored in Random Access Memory (RAM) whilst processing takes place in the CPU.

OUTPUT: The character appears on the screen in the right place.

Objective 2: Explain the characteristics and functions of Information processing.

Information Processing Information processing is the

Acquisition (collection), Recording (capture - input and storing), Organization (sorting), Retrieval (get back from storage), Display (show on screen) and Dissemination (distribution)

of information.

Data Collection Can occur in many ways:

Questionnaire Survey Interview Research etc.

Once data is collected it is fed (INPUT) into the computer system beginning the information processing cycle.

Processing There are many ways in which data can be

processed to produce information. Some include: Carrying out calculations in a spreadsheet. Printing an image. Searching a document or database for a

particular item of data. Updating data in a file. Displaying an image on the screen. Sorting data in alphabetical order.

How do I know all those things are processing?

Carrying out calculations in a spreadsheet. Printing an image. Searching a document or database for a

particular item of data. Updating data in a file. Displaying an image on the screen. Sorting data in alphabetical order.

ALL VERBS, DOING THINGS.

Forms of Information Processing:

1. AUTOMATION2. PROCESS CONTROL3. COMMERCIAL DATA PROCESSING4. INDUSTRIAL DATA PROCESSING5. SCIENTIFIC DATA PROCESSING

1. AUTOMATION Automation is the act of using computers

and machines instead of human labour. Automated systems work without any

human involvement. Automatic systems carry out straight

forward tasks e.g. Running through a program on a washing machine or dryer.

Once an automated system has been switched on it follows a set of predetermined actions to the end.

Examples of Automation Correspondence – Flow cable Inventory Tracking Invoice and accounts receivable Record keeping Data analysis Sharing of information Automation in the home https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB5JSOiK6LE

2. PROCESS CONTROL A process is an operation or action

that is performed in doing something. Special purpose computers are used for

controlling processes to optimize efficiency.

Examples of systems that are controlled are: Temperature, pressure, humidity, automatic doors, traffic lights, flow of liquids.

2. PROCESS CONTROL cont… Process controlled systems are

used for more complex operations. They constantly check the state of

play and change the actions in response.

Actions are changed depending on the feedback from sensors.

Sensors Sensors are used to detect various physical

quantities, such as temperature, pressure, sound, light, etc.

Murcury tilt switch sensor Light sensor sensor Push switch sensor Temperature sensor Sound sensor Proximity sensor pH sensor Humidity Sensor

Examples of the use of process contol include: Traffic lights Green houses Cars (abs, reversing, all working parts,

alarms, etc) Monitoring a patient in the hospital

3. COMMERCIAL INFORMATION PROCESSING Payroll systems Accounts receivable Orders

Examples of information processingPayroll- A payroll system used an information processing system to calculate the wages of each employee, print out pay slips and record the information for accounting purposes.

Input: Comes from a database of employees details, such as salaries, pay rates, bonus rates

Process: Using software like spreadsheet or other accounting software to calculate the amount earned by employees.

Output: Pay slips would need to be printed using an impact.

Supermarket Stock Control: Businesses need to hold stocks of goods, they sell and manufacturers need to hold their stock of raw materials and finished goods.

Input: the operator at a POS terminal only needs to pass the barcode on each item past a laser scanner.

Process: As each item is sold, the stock files are updated so that customer service can be much quicker

Output: Orders are printed when stock levels reach a re-order point. Customer receipts are printed using thermal printers

Library- This is automated, where a membership card is issued which has barcode printed on it.

Input: Barcode from book, membership card, burrow date, librarians name etc

Process: Library database would have the files containing details about the books, magazines etc.

Information Retrieval: Searches would have to be performed on database by the librarian

Output: Summary reports results of searches

4. INDUSTRIAL INFORMATION PROCESSING May contain any of the processing

examples in commercial information processing but also includes Automation and Process control

Industry: The whole manufacturing process is controlled automatically by a computer system.

Input: Sensors take readings at regular time intervals and send the readings to the computer.

Processing: The computer analyzes the readings and decides whether action needed to be taken.

Output: The computer sends output signals to devices which manage the process to increase pressure or temperature.

5. SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION PROCESSINGWeather Forecasting: Some of the world’s most powerful computers are used to forecast the

weather, which improves the accuracy of forecasts.

Input: Millions of pieces of data such as temperature, pressure etc are collected from satellites, radar etc.

Processing: The data is then stored in a large database. The first task is to perform a quality control check.

Output: The forecasts are normally produced as global and local charts of weather information.

Identify the sources of data in specified application areas;

Turnaround document: A document which, after being output by the computer, can be used to record data.

An example of a turnaround document is the mark sheet that is filled in by your teacher. The mark sheet is generated by the computer, filled in by the subject teacher and then used for input back into the computer so that reports can be printed.

Human Readable: Data that can be understood by humans. Printers and

monitors produce human- readable copies.

Machine Readable: Data that can be understood by computers. Disc drives and

tape drives produce machine-readable copies.

Describe methods of validation andverification of data;

Validation : A checking process in a program which is aimed at finding out if data is genuine. E.g The data type is text and Mr Jones

gets typed in as Mr J0nes,

Verification: Is the checking for mistakes such as transcription errors when data is copied from one medium or device to another.

Range Check: Range check ensures that the data entered is within a certain range. is a date in August between 1 and 31?

Data type checks: This is known as character or alphanumeric check. Whenever data

is entered into a field the database will Check that it is of the correct type.e.g. have letters been entered instead of digits?

Inconsistency check: A consistency check compares the contents of two or more fields to make sure that they make sense. Transposition errors – happen when we

enter numbers or characters in the wrong order.

e.g. I wnet down the street and was my friends playing cricket.

Describe various methods of file organization and access; Direct access - This is where any data can be

accessed without reading any other data items first (randomly). Examples: floppy diskette, flash drive, hard disk drive, etc.

Serial access - This is where all data between the read/write head and the required data have to be passed over before the data can be accessed.

An indexed file is used to speed up the key search in a file. You can think of it as a one column table.