I. General Computing Background
This section of the course will begin with a brief introduction, (hopefully review), of
the most commonly used computer applications. The focus
will be upon how the use of these programs gives a user different views of the
information they are manipulating.
A. File and Data Management Computers allow users to organize
information into files, (a collection of related, organized, data). The major types of
file and data management systems will be discussed in this section. An emphasis will be
placed upon understanding the effects of these systems upon their users' information
processing capabilities.
B. Word and Text Processing Written language communication
has been greatly affected by modern word processors. This will be a quick
introduction/review of modern electronic writing tools and the limitations they place upon
communication.
1. Text (ascii, postscript, eps, rtf, HTML) Various file
formats for storing text have been developed. This brief synopsis will provide an
understanding of the purpose of these formats and their affect upon information sharing.
2. Art (postscript, eps, jpeg,
tiff, gif, IBM Mac & other formats) Art (graphic & image) formats tend to be a
balance between several factors. The relationships between these factors affects one's
choice of a particular format for a task.