Hardware and Software

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

Hardware

Hardware refers to the physical equipment used for the input, processing, output and storage activities of a computer system. It consists of mechanical and electronic devices, which we are able to see and touch easily. Some of them are central processing unit (CPU), primary storage devices, secondary storage devices, input and output unit and communication devices. These are explained below:-

• Central processing unit (CPU): It manipulates the data and controls the tasks performed by the other components.
• Primary storage: It stores temporarily data and program instructions during
  the processing.
• Primary memory (main memory): These are RAM (Random Access Memory/Read-Write Memory), and ROM (Read-only-memory).
• Secondary storage: These store data and programs for future use. These are Hard Disk (Local Disk) and External Hard Disc, Optical Disks,(CDR, CDRW, DVD-R, DVD-RW ), Pen Drive, Memory Cards, etc.

Secondary Storage Devices

Communication Devices: These are used for communication or flow of data from
one computer to another computer. Some of them are Modem, Switch, Router, TV
tuner card, etc.

Software

A computer cannot do anything on its own. It has to be guided by the user. We have to give a sequence of instructions to the computer in order to do any specific job. Software is simply a computer program or a set of instructions. Software guides the computer at every step indicating where to start and stop during a particular job. The process of software development is called programming.

Types of software

There are two types of software, namely, system software and application software.

System software

System Software are general purpose programs designed to perform tasks such as controlling all operations required to move data into and out of the computer. It communicates with keyboard, printer, card reader, disk, tapes, etc. It also monitors the use of various hardwares like memory, CPU, etc. System software acts as an interface between hardware and application software. Remember that it is not possible to run applicaion software without system software. Some of the system softwares are Disc Operating System(DOS), Windows, Unix/Linux, MAC/OS X etc.

Application software

It is a set of programs, which are written to perform specific tasks of the users of computer. These softwares are developed in high level languages to help the user to get the computer to perform various tasks. Some of the application software are MS Office, Macromedia (Dreamweaver, Flash, Freehand), Adobe (PageMaker, PhotoShop), LIBSYS, SOUL, WINISIS, KOHA, etc.