Computer Hardware and Software
Computer Hardware:
The physical or tangible parts which make the computer system is known as hardware. The hardware consists of all the electronic circuits and peripheral devices used to perform various tasks in the computer. Some examples of hardware are: keyboard, mouse, monitor, system unit, printer, RAM, microphone, web camera, hard disk etc. The computer hardware devices can be categorized in the following major types.
1. Input Devices :
Input devices are the types of hardware which are used for entering data and instructions to the computer for processing. An input device converts input data into suitable and understandable form to the computer.
There are various types of input devices used for different purposes. Some of the common input devices are:
a) Keyboard
b) Mouse
c) Scanners
d) Web-camera
e) Joystick
f) Digital camera
2. Processing Devices:
The processing devices are the types of hardware which processes the input data according to the given set of instructions. CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the main processing device in the computer which performs all operations of data according to program's instructions and gives result. It executes the program instructions and tells other parts of the computer what to do. It is also known as electronic brain of computer.
The CPU has the following three major parts. They are:
a) Control Unit (CU)
b) Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
c) Registers
3. Output Devices:
The output devices translate and display the processed result in human understandable form. The computer generates several types of output, depending upon the hardware, software and user's requirement. Basically the output produced by computer may be in two forms.
- Softcopy Output: The output produced on display screen and audio sound is known as softcopy output. This kind of output is not touchable and temporary in nature. The monitor, speaker etc are the common softcopy output devices.
- Hardcopy Output: The output printed on the paper is called hardcopy output. The hardcopy output is touchable and permanent in nature. Printer, plotter etc, are the most commonly used hardcopy output devices.
4. Primary Memory Devices:
The primary memory devices are the type of hardware used to store the data and instructions which is to be executed in the computer. This is also known as internal or main memory which also stores the necessary programs for the computer operation. This is fast, expensive and temporary memory than secondary memory used in computer. The primary memory can be in the following types. They are:
- Random Access Memory (RAM): Random Access Memory(RAM) is the temporary or volatile memory because its contents are lost when the computer is switched off. This type of memory allows both reading and writing operations on data.
- Read Only Memory (ROM): Read Only Memory(ROM) is the permanent or non-volatile memory of computer because its contents are not lost when the computer is switched off. This is a type of memory which allows only reading operation on data.
5. Secondary Storage Devices:
The secondary storage devices also known as auxiliary or additional devices are used to store the data and programs for future purpose. They are permanent, inexpensive and can store huge amount of data than primary memory devices. Examples of secondary storage devices are hard disk, magnetic tape, CD (Compact Disk), DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), pen drives, etc.
COMPUTER SOFTWARE:
The computer needs to specify a sequence of instructions to execute a problem. Such a set of instructions that performs specific task in the computer is called a computer program. The collection of computer programs and related data that provides the instructions telling a computer what to do is called a software. It is a set of instructions written to perform a specified task for a computer.Thus,
Software is a collection of computer programs, procedures, and documentation that perform some task on a computer system.
Or,
Software is a collection of programs that make computer work.
Types of Software:
There are various types of software used to perform different tasks in the computer. Computer software can be broadly divided into two types. Computer software can be broadly divided into two types.
- System Software
- Application Software
1. System Software:
System software is a set of programs that manages and supports the resources and operations of a computer system. It is essential software which creates link between user and computer as well as provides and maintains a platform for running application software. The system software functions
as a bridge between computer system hardware and the application software. Thus,
System software is a type of computer program that is designed to run a computer's hardware and application programs.
Types of System Software:
The system software can be sub-divided into four basic types.
a. Operating System Software
b. Utility Software
c. Device Driver Software
d. Language Processor Software
a. Operating System Software:
An operating system is a software program that enables the hardware to communicate and operate with the software. Without an operating system, a computer would be useless. Some examples of operating system software are: Windows, DOS, Linux, Unix, Macintosh operating system (Mac OS) etc.
b. Utility Software:
The utility software also known as service program is a type of system software, which is used for maintenance of computer system and other programs. It performs special jobs in the computer such as virus cleaning, formatting disk, defragmentation of disk, etc. The utility software is designed to make the computer functioning smoothly. Some examples of utility software are: Norton Utilities, Antivirus, File managers, Backup utility, Disk cleaners, Disk defragmenter etc.
c. Device Driver Software (DDS):
The special software which control the functionality of hardware devices attached with the computer is called device driver software. A device driver tells the operating system how to communicate with peripheral devices such as printer, scanner, etc. For examples: Printer's Driver, Scanner's driver, Webcam's driver, etc.
d. Language Processor Software (LPS):
The software which translates the programming language code into machine code is called language processor or language translator. These software can convert the program of High Level Language or assembly language into machine understandable form. There are four types of language processors:
- Assembler: An assembler is a type of language processor which translates the program written in assembly language into machine code. The assembler reads each assembly instructions and converts them into equivalent machine instructions. Example: Pseudo Assembly.
- Interpreter: An interpreter is a type of language processor which translates the program written in high-level language into a machine language line by line. An interpreter translates one instruction to machine code, executes the instruction, then translates and executes the next one and so on until the end of the program. The programming languages like, QBASIC, LOGO, etc are interpreter based languages.
- Compiler: The compiler is a type of language processor which translates the program written in high-level language into machine language at once. It reads whole block of codes at a time, converts them into executable machine code, and runs the code. The programming languages like C, C++, Java, .Net etc are compiler based programming languages.
- Source code and Object code: Source code is the program written in a high-level language where as an object code is equivalent machine level or binary code obtained after the translation from source code. The process of converting a source code into an object code is known as compilation.
2. Application Software:
Application software is a set of one or more programs, designed to solve a specific problem of user such as creating text document, playing games, listening music, surfing the web etc on the computer. These software are used to solve user oriented problems so they are developed for user's purpose. The program included in the application software package is called application program.
The application software can be sub-divided into two types. They are:
a. Tailored or Customized Software:
The tailored software also known as customized software are designed to meet the specific requirement of an organization or individual. For example, Payroll system, Result processing, Library system, Banking system, etc.
b. General or Packaged Software:
The generalized set of software that perform specific task is called packaged software. They are large sized, standard and advanced software used for special work. For example, word processing package, Spreadsheet Package, Database package, Multimedia Package, Graphic Package etc. The related software of different application packages are as follows:
- Word Processing Package: It is used for preparing text document.
- Spreadsheet Package: It is used for mathematical calculations.
- Database Management System package: It is used for managing database.
- Graphics package: It is used for graphic designing.
- Multimedia package: It is used for preparing multimedia contents.
OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE:
The Open Source Software(OSS) are freely available software on internet. The users didn't need to pay any amount while using these software. They do not require any license to use, so their General Public License(GPL) gives user the freedom to use and modify the program for any purpose. The software like Linux, Open Office, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Apache, Netscape Navigator etc, are Open Source Software.
Some features of open source software are given below:
- Open source software are freely available on internet and can be used without any cost or without license.
- The source code of open source software can be easily downloaded from internet and can be modified as our requirement.
- The source code of open source software can be re-distributed.
- There is no restriction of law to use them.
Important Points to remember (ALL ARTICLE IN BRIEF):
- The physical parts of computer that can be touched, seen and felt are called Hardware.
- The computer hardware devices fall into the Input devices, processing devices, Output devices, primary memory devices and secondary storage devices.
- Input devices are used for entering data and programs in to the computer system for processing.
- The processing devices are used to process the input data according to the given set of instructions.
- CPU also known as electronic brain of computer is the main processing device.
- The output devices translate and display the processed result in human understandable form.
- The primary memory devices are used to store data and instructions to be executed in the computer.
- The secondary storage devices are used to store the data and programs for future purpose.
- Software is the collection of programs which makes computer work.
- Computer software are broadly classified into two types: System Software an Application software.
- System software is a set of program that manages and supports the resources and operations of a computer system.
- The service programs used for smooth functioning of computer system is known as utility software.
- Device driver is a software which controls the functionality of peripheral device.
- Language processor is software that translates the programming language codes into machine code.
- Application Software are the set of programs, designed to solve a specific problem of user.
- The free software which provides user access the source code on internet are known as open source software. Computer Hardware and Software
To be Continued....................
Today in this article I have written about Computer hardware and software, please support us for more posts and articles . If you have any questions or doubt on something then please ask me on comment below, don't forget to leave your feedback.
I hope you guys find this post helpful. Contact us if you want to work with us, or if you want us something to write about then please be free to ask.
Some interesting Quotes, check it out for inner peace:
