Baby steps - 3

 Friends,

 I foresee it would be a messy journey if I would document everything I am learning in my class. Because, my program is sub-divided into many modules - my blogpost could be a mix of all the subjects I would be learning, and I assume it would create confusion. Instead of me replicating whatever I am learning in class, I am thinking of summarizing in simple words, easier to remember without bothering too much on which module it belongs to. The plan is that for now, but I am sure we will have a sense of clarity as days goes by . So, lets begin.

Learning computing or cybersecurity entails one to clearly understand all the aspects pertaining to computers. So, guess what - we got to understand first, the history of computers. All the generations of computers - the first, second, third, fourth and fifth. There are some major differences and progression along the way. The first generation computer which started in 1946 (1946-1959) used Vacuum tubes. The second (1959-1965) used transistors, the third (1965-1971) used integrated circuits, the fourth (1972-1990) used  microprocessors based on VLSI  (VLSI standing for very large scale integration )and the fifth generation computers beginning from 1991 onwards uses microprocessor chips using ULSI (ultra large scale integration) technology. We also need to have a solid understanding of computer architecture and networkings. Terms like LAN (local area network), WAN, MAN, switch, vpn, router, subnet should be a no brainer. 

I am sure friends, we do understand what computer hardware means. It is the physical component of the machine. But, to be able to operate it, we need a software - an operating system. Operating system is therefore the interface between the user and hardware. Guess what, there are many operating systems and I bet you already know the names of some of them. We need to look in the history and operating principle behind some of the popular operating systems like windows and linux. One quick note, did you know what Kernel is - kernel is like the soul of the operating system,its core. How the application does what they do is because of the kernel. Kernel uses the computer resources and connects it with the applications so that it functions. Two other terms which would come handy when learning operating systems is CLI and GUI. CLI stands for command-line interface and GUI stands for graphical user interface. The name itself explains it a bit, we can operate an OS(operating system) by typing appropriate commands. We can also operate them (not all though) by navigating through the computer monitors and using the graphical symbols associated to a particular function. So, learning various commands of the operating systems we are getting familiar with is a must. There are different commands used for example in windows operating system vs Linux to perform a same task. I am sure you are following what I mean .

And, last remarks for this post. We are progressing on Python as well. I will have separate posts especially for Python language. I am getting used to different terms like operators and its types, python data types which are primarily divided into five headings which are numeric ( integer, complex number and float), sequence (string, tuple and list), boolean, set and dictionary, how to use comments, what is a docstring and so on.  And there is a significant progression in database system study. Database seems like a very important topic. It is because of all the relevant data and the ease of accessing it through computers, we see the practical application of technology in daily lives. To broadly put you in perspective, many giant tech. and. non tech,. companies rely on databases like facebook, google, amazon and so on. So, database itself also demands a separate post which you would find it it in the blog. There I will dive into database history, database management system, major players involved in the formation of systemic database system and some of the details of it like what is  normalization and why we do it (to remove redundancy), what is UML , ER diagram, what are entities, attributes, what is a relation and so on. 

These all been said, a practical understanding and applications of computer systems, networkings, programming languages, data base systems are some of the things I have been trying to build on for now and which I am and will be sharing with you all as I gain understanding of the subject matter.