1.

1 Define Hardware and Software, giving

examples

Computer hardware is the collection of physical elements that constitute a

computer system. Computer hardware refers to the physical parts or components of
a computer such as monitor, keyboard, Computer data storage, hard drive disk,
mouse, system unit (graphic cards, sound cards, memory, motherboard and chips),
etc. all of which are physical objects that you can actually touch.

Computer Hardware are broadly divided into four types

Input Devices :
Hardware used to input data into computer system like keyboard, mouse
Output Devices
Hardware used to output processed data from computer system like Monitor, printer
Storage Devices
Hardware used to store the data like hard disk Pen drive, CD
System Unit: Hardware present in System Unit Like
CPU , Motherboard, Graphics Card, Data Bus, System Cables, Ports etc

Hardware is the physical parts of the computer system the parts that you can touch and see.

A motherboard, a CPU, a keyboard and a monitor are all items of hardware.

An analogy

Your hardware is all of the parts that make up your body: bones, muscles, skin, blood, etc.
 Computer software is a set of programs, procedures, code and related data that
provide the instructions for telling computer hardware what to do and how to do it.
Software are broadly divided into two types

System Software: System software is any computer software which manages

and controls computer hardware so that application software can perform a task.
Operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X or Linux, are
prominent examples of system software

Application Software application software are programs that enable the end-user
to perform specific, productive tasks, such as MS Word for word processing or
Photoshop for image manipulation.

Hardware and Software have a symbiotic relationship, this means that without
software hardware is very limited; and without hardware, software wouldn't be able
to run at all. They need each other to fulfill their potential.

Software is a collection of instructions that can be run on a computer. These instructions tell
the computer what to do.

Software is not a physical thing (but it can of course be stored on a physical medium such as a
CD-ROM), it is just a bunch of codes.

An operating system such as Windows XP or Mac OS X, applications such as Microsoft Word,

and the instructions that control a robot are all examples of software.
To continue the analogy

Your software is all of your thoughts and mental processes: these are the instructions that tell your physical body what to do

1.2 The Difference between Software and

Hardware

1.3 Classification and Components Computer

Computer types based on operation

Computers are classified in to three types based on their

principles of operation. These three types of computers are
Analog computers

Digital computers

Hybrid computers

Analog computers
Analog computer is a computer that performs operations using continuously varying
signals such as voltage, current and frequency. In analog computers numbers are
represented by continuously varying quantities such as voltage, current and frequency.

Analog computers are mainly used for scientific and engineering purposes. These
computers do not give completely accurate results. The accuracy of analog computers
is less. Analog computers do not require memory for performing operations.

ANALOG COMPUTERS are that in which data varies continuously i.e. the
movement of data is continuous.

USED FOR

Measuring temperature, pressure, etc

Communication
Broadcast transmission

EXAMPLE
Automobile Speedometer, Voltmeter, etc

Digital computers
Digital computer is a computer that performs calculations and logical operations using
electrical signal such as voltage that is represented in two digits 0 and 1. Where 0 and 1
represents two different voltages or states, 0 represents 0V or OFF state and 1
represents 5V or ON state. 0 or 1 is called bit.

Most of the computers available today are the digital computers. The computers that we
use at home or offices are digital computers.

DIGITAL COMPUTERS are those computers in which data flows in discrete

form.

REPRESENTED BY: pulses, two series i.e. 0s & 1s

USED FOR

Mathematical calculations
Compare values
Storing the result

EXAMPLE

Digital watch, Education system, business purpose

Hybrid computers
Hybrid computer is a computer that has features of both analog and digital computers.
These computers use analog part for performing the mathematical calculations such as
differential equations and digital part for performing the logical operations and for storing
result. Hybrid computers have the speed of analog computer and accuracy of digital
computer.

HYBRID COMPUTERS are combination of both analog computer and

digital computer

MEASURES: both continuous and discrete form of data

EXAMPLE
 STD/PCO phone, where one communicate with a person using analog
computer & the rate as charges and pulse rate is measured in forms of
digit.
Measuring heart beat or ECG system in ICU in a hospital

Computer types based on purpose

There are two types of computers based on purpose. They are

General purpose computers

Special purpose computers

General purpose computers

The general purpose computers are used for various purposes like playing games,
watching videos, doing research, performing calculations etc.

These computers perform different operations by using different software's. The

computers that are used in homes, schools and business centers are general purpose
computers. Personal computers like notebooks, desktops and tablets are examples of
general purpose computers.

GENERAL PURPOSE COMPUTER: These are designed to perform the

variety of jobs or applications for this reason; they are less efficient than
special purpose computers.

EXAMPLE
Banking, Sales Analysis, PCs, etc

Special purpose computers

The special purpose computers are designed for performing a single task. A set of
instructions are build in to the computer for performing specific task. These computers
are used for air traffic control, satellite tracking.
SPECIAL PURPOSE COMPUTER: These are designed to meet the needs of
some special application. They are designed to perform a single job. So they
execute a task quickly and more efficiently. Program and instructions are
stored permanently in them.

EXAMPLE
Weapon designing

Main Computer Components

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The CPU is the 'brain' of the computer. It is the device that carries out software instructions.

The Pentium processor made by Intel is an example of a CPU.

CPUs usually plug into a large socket on the main circuit board (the motherboard) of a computer.
They get very hot when they are operating so usually have a large fan attached to their top to
keep them cool.
The speed of a CPU is measured in Hertz (Hz).

The speed generally corresponds to the number of actions the CPU can perform every second.

1 Megahertz (MHz) is 1,000,000 (1 million) Hertz

1 Gigahertz (GHz) is 1,000,000,000 (1 billion) Hertz

A typical, modern, fast CPU runs at around 2.8GHz. That means it can perform almost 3 billion actions every second!
Main Memory
Any data or instructions that are to be processed by the CPU must be placed into main
memory (sometimes known as primary storage).

Random Access Memory (RAM)

Random Access Memory (RAM) is the part of the computer that temporarily stores the
instructions that the computer is running, and the data it is processing.

RAM is a volatile storage device. This means that if the computers power is turned off the
contents of RAM disappear and are lost.

RAM, like the CPU, also plugs in to sockets on the motherboard.

When a computer is in use, its RAM will contain

1. The operating system software

2. The application software currently being used

3. Any data that is being processed

The storage capacity of memory is measured in Bytes.

Usually RAM can hold millions of bytes of data, so you will see capacities measured in:

Megabytes (MB) or 1,000,000 (1 million) Bytes

Gigabytes (GB) or 1,000,000,000 (1 billion) Bytes

So, if a computer has 2GB of RAM, it can hold 2 billion bytes of data and instructions at any time.

Read-Only Memory (ROM)

Read-Only Memory (ROM) is used in most computers to hold a small, special piece of software:
the 'boot up' program.

This software runs when the computer is switched on or 'boots up'. The software checks the
computers hardware and then loads the operating system.

ROM is non-volatile storage. This means that the data it contains is never lost, even if the power
is switched off.
This 'boot up' software is known as the BIOS (Basic Input Output System)

Peripheral Devices
Technically, a computer need only be made up of a CPU and some RAM. But a computer like
this would not be much use to anybody other devices need to be connected to allow data to be
passed in and out of the computer.

The general name for these extra devices is peripheral devices. They are usually categorised
into input devices, output devices and storage devices.

Input and output devices are explored more fully in Section 2.

Storage devices are explored more fully in Section 3.

'Peripheral' literally means 'around the edge'.

In other words these devices are not part of the central core of the computer.

What Are Input Devices?

Devices that pass data into the computer are known as input devices.

A keyboard, a mouse and a webcam are all examples of input devices.

They all take information from the outside world (key presses, hand movements, images),
convert them into data and then send this data into the computer for processing.
What Are Output Devices?

Devices that take data from the computer are known as output devices.

A monitor, a printer and a loudspeaker are all examples of output devices.

They all take information from the computer and convert it into real world things (images, paper
hardcopy, sound).

What is Secondary / Backing Storage?

Secondary storage (sometimes called backing storage) is the name for all of the devices (apart
from ROM and RAM) that can store data in a computer system.

A hard drive, a CD-ROM, a floppy disc and a USB memory stick are all examples of secondary
storage devices.

Secondary storage is non-volatile, so data that is stored on these devices remains there safely.
When we talk about 'saving' a file, what we mean is moving data from volatile RAM to non-volatile secondary storage.

e.g. If we are typing a letter using Word, the data for the letter is in RAM (if the power goes off we lose it all).

When we save the letter, the data is copied from RAM to a storage device such as a memory stick or hard-drive for safe-keeping.
1.4 Install and Configure Hardware
Components