PGT Informatics Practices
1. Computer Fundamentals and Hardware:
i. Basic computer organization (CPU, Memory, I/O devices)
ii. Types of software (System Software: OS, Compiler, Interpreter, Assembler; Utility Software: Anti-Virus, File Management; Application Software: Office tools, Domain-specific tools)
iii. Number Systems (Binary, Octal, Decimal, Hexadecimal, and conversions)
iv. Internal storage encoding (ASCII, ISCII, UNICODE)
v. Memory concepts (Units, Primary Memory: Cache, RAM, ROM; Secondary Memory: HDD, CD/DVD, Pen Drive, Blu-Ray)
vi. Microprocessor basics (Clock speed, bit processors, types: CISC, RISC, EPIC)
2. Programming (Primarily Python for Informatics Practices):
i. Introduction to Python: Features, basic structure, keywords, identifiers.
ii. Data Types, Variables, and Constants: Built-in data types (int, float, bool, str, list, tuple, dictionary, set), constants, variables, type casting.
iii. Operators and Expressions: Arithmetic, Relational, Logical, Assignment, Bitwise, Membership, Identity operators; Operator precedence.
iv. Control Flow: Conditional statements (if-else, elif), looping statements (for, while), jump statements (break, continue, pass).
v. Strings: String operations, methods, string formatting.
vi. Lists, Tuples, Dictionaries, Sets: Creation, manipulation, methods, operations.
vii. Functions: Defining functions, parameters (positional, keyword, default, variable-length), return values, scope (LEGB rule), lambda functions.
viii. File Handling: Text files, Binary files, CSV files (read, write, append operations).
3. Data Handling using Pandas:
i. Introduction to Pandas: Series and DataFrames (creation, attributes).
ii. Operations on Series and DataFrames: Selection, indexing, slicing, filtering, sorting, aggregation functions.
iii. Data Visualization (using Matplotlib/Seaborn basics): Line plots, bar plots, histograms, pie charts, scatter plots.
iv. Importing/Exporting Data: CSV, Excel files.
4. Database Management System (DBMS) and SQL:
i. Database Concepts: Introduction, advantages of DBMS, database models (Relational Model).
ii. Relational Database Concepts: Domain, Tuple, Relation, Attributes, Keys (Primary Key, Candidate Key, Alternate Key, Foreign Key).
iii. Structured Query Language (SQL):
iv. DDL (Data Definition Language): CREATE DATABASE, CREATE TABLE, ALTER TABLE, DROP TABLE.
v. DML (Data Manipulation Language): INSERT, SELECT, UPDATE, DELETE.
vi. DQL (Data Query Language): SELECT statements with WHERE, ORDER BY, GROUP BY, HAVING, DISTINCT, LIKE, BETWEEN, IN, NULL values, aggregate functions (COUNT, SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX).
vii. Joins: Inner Join, Outer Join (basic understanding).
5. Networking and Internet:
i. Data Communication Terminologies: Channel, Data transfer rate (bps, kbps, Mbps, Gbps).
ii. Transmission Media: Twisted pair, Coaxial, Optical Fiber, Infrared, Radio link, Microwave, Satellite link.
iii. Network Devices: Modem, RJ11/RJ45, Ethernet Card, Hub, Switch, Router, Gateway.
iv. Network Topologies: Bus, Star, Ring, Mesh.
v. Network Types: LAN, WAN, MAN.
vi. Internet: WWW, Web Browsers, Web Servers, URLs, HTTP, FTP, Email protocols (POP3, IMAP, SMTP).
vii. Network Security Concepts: Malware (Virus, Worm, Trojan), Phishing, Spam, Firewalls, Cybercrime, Hacking (basic terms).
6. Societal Impact of IT / Emerging Trends:
i. Digital Footprint, Digital Divide, Cyber Safety.
ii. E-waste Management.
iii. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR): Copyright, Patent, Trademark.
iv. Plagiarism.
v. Open Source Software vs. Proprietary Software.
vi. Green Computing.
vii. Emerging Technologies: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud Computing (SaaS, IaaS, PaaS), Blockchain, Robotics, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR).
