Information technology: an introduction for today's digital world

Table of Contents
Introduction to Information Technology
What Is IT?
Who Studies IT?
IT Infrastructure

Computer Organization and Hardware
Structure of a Computer
A Program
Executing the Program
Role of CPU
Role of Memory
Role of Input and Output
Computer Hardware and Computer Assembly (Installation)

Binary Numbering System
Numbering Systems
Binary Numbering System
Negative Numbers and Fractions
Character Representations
Binary Operations
Examples of Using Binary Numbers

Introduction to Operating System Concepts
What Is an Operating System?
Some Useful Terms
OS Tasks
Forms of Process Management
Booting and System Initialization
Administrator Account
Installing an OS

Files, Directories, and the File System
Files and Directories
File Systems and Disks
Linux File System
Windows File System
Moving around the File System
File System and System Administration Tasks

Users, Groups, and Permissions
Users
Setting Up User Accounts
Role of a Group
Permissions
Miscellaneous User Account Topics

History of Computers
Evolution of Computer Hardware
Evolution of Computer Software
Evolution of the Computer User
Impact on Society

Operating Systems History
Before Linux and Windows
A History of Unix
A History of Linux
Differences and Distributions
Open Source Movement
A History of Windows

Bash Shell and Editing
Shells
Bash Shell Editing Features
Exploring the Bash Interpreter
Personalizing Your Bash Shell
Text Editors

Regular Expressions
Metacharacters
Bash and Wildcards
The grep Program
Other Uses of Regular Expressions

Processes and Services
Starting a Process
Process Execution
Process Status
Scheduling Processes
Terminating Processes
Services
Configuring Services
Establishing Services at Boot Time

Networks, Network Software, and the Internet
Networks at a Hardware Level
Networks at a Logical Level
Network Protocols
Network Software
The Internet

Software
Types of Software
Software-Related Terminology
Software Management
Services and Servers

Programming
Types of Languages
A Brief Examination of High Level Programming Languages
Types of Instructions
Scripting Languages

Information
What Is Information?
Data and Databases
Information Assurance and Security
Threats and Solutions
Cryptography
Laws

Careers in Information Technology
IT Careers
Related Careers
IT Ethics
Other Social Considerations
Continuing Education

Summary
Information Technology: An Introduction for Today’s Digital World introduces undergraduate students to a wide variety of concepts they will encounter throughout their IT studies and careers. The book covers computer organization and hardware, Windows and Linux operating systems, system administration duties, scripting, computer networks, regular expressions, binary numbers, the Bash shell in Linux, DOS, managing processes and services, and computer security. It also gives students insight on IT-related careers, such as network and web administration, computer forensics, web development, and software engineering.

Suitable for any introductory IT course, this classroom-tested text presents many of the topics recommended by the ACM Special Interest Group on IT Education (SIGITE). It offers a far more detailed examination of the computer than current computer literacy texts, focusing on concepts essential to all IT professionals—from operating systems and hardware to information security and computer ethics. The book highlights Windows/DOS and Linux with numerous examples of issuing commands and controlling the operating systems. It also provides details on hardware, programming, and computer networks.