IT1020 – Concept of Information

This subject deals with the concept of information, media, and its many forms. Topics discussed include definition of information and knowledge and their characteristics. Temporal and non-temporal information. Non-temporal information includes linear and non-linear text; linear text without form, sequence of characters, ASCII, ISO character sets, character sets for LOTE; Text with form, need to store content and form both. Presentation, fonts, device independent fonts, storage and printing of fonts, geometric descriptions of fonts, kerning. Non-linear form of text: hypertext, representation of hypertext and the web. Operations on text including retrieval, character and string operations, editing, formatting, pattern-matching, and searching, compression, and encryption. This subject also includes concepts related to the representation of different information types such as digital images, digital audio, graphics, and digital video. The compression mechanisms (text, audio, and video) and data storage concepts also introduced.