CHAPTER -02 COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

PREPARED BY : SANJEEV SHARMA

INTRODUCTION
Now that you know a little bit about computers, this lesson will tell you about two major
functional entities of a computer system: hardware and software. ‘‘Hardware” refers to
the physical parts of the computer, and “software” refers to the programs or apps. Both
hardware and software are equally important to perform a task and they are useless
in the absence of the other.
COMPONENTS OF COMPUTER
HARDWARE
SOFTWARE
HARDWARE:
Hardware refers to the physical components of the computer i.e. the parts that you
can touch. When you look at a computer system and all the peripheral devices that
are attached to it such as monitor, keyboard, mouse, scanner, printer, and speaker
are hardware.
Hardware devices are mainly of four types:
● Processing devices
● Storage devices
● Input devices
● Output devices
Processing devices such as CPU and motherboards are the components which are
responsible for the processing of information within the computer system. Storage
devices like hard disk, DVDs, etc., allow storing of data externally. Motherboard is a
processing device.
MOTHER BOARD
A motherboard is also known as mainboard or a system board. It holds all components
of the system, such as the processor (CPU) and main memory. It also provides ports
for other peripheral devices such as keyboard printer sound cards, and USB devices
such as a mouse. Motherboard is considered as the ‘spine’ onto which all other
devices are connected.

Input Devices
An input device is any hardware device that sends or transfers data to a computer,
allowing you to interact with and control the computer. Keyboard Keyboard is one of
the primary input devices used along with a computer. It is used to enter textual data
into a computer. The group of keys for letters, numbers and special characters are
called the character keys
Numeric keypad:
Numeric keypad is a part of computer keyboard. Usually, it is located at the right side
of a keyboard. It is arranged like a standard calculator to be used to enter numerical
data.
Cursor and monitor controls: The keys are found between the typing keypad and the
numeric keypad. It has two groups of keys, arranged at the top and the bottom.
1. Insert key switches between insert and overtype modes.
2. Home key brings you back at the beginning of a line.
3. Page Up and Page Down keys help you to move one page or screen up or down.
4. Delete key erases text or page.
5. The End key takes you at the end of a line.
6. The Arrow keys are independent directional keys, which let you move the cursor
Left, Right, Up and Down.
Mouse
Mouse is an input device. With a click of a button, the mouse sends information to the
computer. The mouse is an interesting device that offers an alternative way to interact
with the computer beside a keyboard. A typical mouse has two buttons. At the top of
the device you will find a left and right button which allows “clicks”. There is a scrolling
wheel between the two buttons.
Joystick A joystick is an input device that can be used for controlling the movement
of the cursor or a pointer in a computer device. It is also known as a cursor control
device used in computer games. The pointer movement is controlled by a lever on the
joystick. There are different types of joysticks such as displacement joysticks, hand
operated joysticks, finger-operated joysticks, thumb/fingertip-operated joysticks, hand-
operated isometric joysticks, etc.
Scanner A scanner is a device that optically reads images from prints, posters,
magazine pages, and similar sources and converts it into a digital file for computer
editing and displaying. Scanners usually attach to personal computer with a Small
Computer System Interface (SCSI). SCSI interface allows computers to communicate
faster with peripheral devices such as disk drives, CD-ROM drives, printers and
scanners.
The most common types of scanner are:
Flatbed scanners: A flatbed scanner is made up of a glass pane and a moving optical
CIS or CCD array. The pane is illuminated with the help of bright light planted
underneath it. The image which is to be scanned is placed on the glass pane. The
sensor and source of light move across the glass pane to scan the document and
produce its digital copy.
Sheet-fed Scanners: Sheet-fed scanners scan loose papers placed in a tray by
pulling them across a static scanning lens. These devices make it easier to scan a
large stack of papers than a flatbed scanner, where you would have to insert and
SHEET-FED SCANNERS
MICROPHONE
Microphone is an input device to record sound that is then stored in a digital format. It
has a sensor that converts sound into electrical signals. Microphones are used in many
applications such as telephones, tape recorders, karaoke systems, hearing aids, etc.
The microphone is plugged into the soundcard’s microphone port.
BAR Code reader A barcode reader (or barcode scanner) is an optical scanner that
can read printed barcodes, decode the data contained in the barcode and send the
data to a computer. Like a flatbed scanner, it consists of a light source, a lens and a
light sensor translating for optical impulses into electrical signals.
Barcode readers: the handheld reader, the fixed mount reader, and the reader gates.
Magnetic Stripe Reader It is a data capturing device that reads information via
contact with a card carrying a magnetic stripe. It is also called card swipe machine or
just swipe machine because the card must be passed (swiped) through a slot for
reading the stored information.
The magnetic stripe on the back of a badge is composed of iron-based magnetic
particles encased in plastic-like tape. Information is written on the stripe by
magnetizing the tiny bars in either a north or south pole direction with a special
electromagnetic writer, called an encoder.
Light Pen A light pen is a pointing device shaped like a pen. The tip of the light pen
contains a light-sensitive element which, when placed against the screen, detects the
light from the screen enabling the computer to identify the location of the pen on the
screen. A light pen is similar to a mouse, except that with a light pen you can move
the pointer and select objects on the display screen by directly pointing to the objects
with the pen.
OMR Optical Mark Reading or Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) is the process of
gathering information from user by recognizing marks on a document. It is a method
of entering data into a computer system. Optical Mark Readers read pencil or pen
marks made in pre-defined positions on paper forms as responses to questions or tick
list prompts.
The OMR data entry system contains the information to convert the presence or
absence of marks into a computer data file.
The OMR technology could be used if data is to be collected and processed from a
large number of sources simultaneously in a short period of time. The information
mainly comprises the selection of categories or “tick box” answers to multiple choice
questions.
OCR Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a technology that enables you to
convert different types of documents, such as scanned paper documents, PDF files or
images captured by a digital camera into editable and searchable data. magazines, or
other old printed material and using OCR to put them onto computers.
All OCR systems include an optical scanner for reading text and OCR software to
extract data from the scanned document and to make the content of the original
document editable.
MICR Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) is a technique that enables
special characters printed in magnetic ink to be read and input directly to a computer.
When a document that contains this ink needs to be read, it passes through a machine,
which magnetizes the ink and then translates the magnetic information into characters.
MICR is used mainly by the banking industry.
Digital Camera A digital camera is a hardware device that takes pictures like a regular
camera, but stores the image digitally, instead of printing it to film. The images can be
transferred to a computer or stored in the camera for future use.
Many digital cameras are capable of recording video in addition to taking photos.
Web Camera A web camera or webcam is a small digital video camera directly or
indirectly connected to a computer. Webcams are either embedded into the display
with laptop computers or can be connected to the USB port on the computer.
Webcams come with software that needs to be installed on the computer to help users
record video on or stream it to the web.
Output Devices An output device is a computer hardware that receives data from a
computer and transfers it out of the computer in the form of text, images, sounds, or
other media.
Printer A printer is an external hardware output device that takes the electronic data
stored on a computer or other device and generates a hard copy of it. Printers are one
of the most popular computer peripherals and are commonly used to print text and
photos.

Printers can be divided into two main categories:

Impact printers and non-impact printers.
a. Impact Printers: In this type of printers, hammers or pins strike against a ribbon
and paper to print the text. This mechanism is known as electro-mechanical
mechanism.
They are of two types
(i) Character Printer: It prints only one character at a time. It has relatively slower
speed. E.g. Dot matrix printers.
(ii) Line Printer: It prints one entire line of text at a time.
b. Non-Impact Printers: These printers use non-impact technology such as ink-jet or
laser technology. There printers provide better quality of output at higher speed.
The three main types of non-impact printer are:
(i) Thermal Printer: A thermal printer is a printer that makes use of heat in order to
produce the image on paper. Thermal printing does not make use of ink or toner unlike
many other printing forms but largely depends on thermal papers for producing the
images. Fig. 2.18 Thermal printer
(ii) Laser Printer: A laser printer is a type of printer that uses a laser and electrical
charge model instead of the traditional printing of ink onto paper. A laser beam fires
on a mechanical cylinder known as a photoreceptor. This results in a pattern on the
photoreceptor that gets coated with toner.
(iii) Ink Jet Printer: Inkjet printers are a category of printer in which printing is done
with the help of inkjet technology. The technology works by spraying ionized ink
directed by magnetic plates onto the paper, which is fed through the printer.
An inkjet printer consists of a print head, ink cartridges, paper feed assembly, belt
Cartridge Inkjet printer and stabilizer bar. Inkjet printers are capable of creating high-
quality images and high-resolution photos with vivid colours.
Monitor Monitor is an output device which displays information in pictorial form.
Following are some types of monitors which use different technologies for display. a.
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) A cathode ray tube (CRT) is a specialized vacuum tube in
which images are produced when an electron beam strikes a phosphorescent surface.
Early desktop computers were using CRTs. The CRT works by heating a cathode
which causes electrons to flow. The resulting colour displayed on screen is derived by
the intensity of the electron beams as they strike the red, green and blue phosphors
and cause them to glow at each pixel location.
b. Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) LCD monitor is one with a fluorescent panel and
cold cathode technology. This type of monitor is an improvement over the older
cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors, which used a vacuum tube to emit electrons onto
the fluorescent panel. LCD offers improvements with almost half the power usage, a
mercury-free environment, and low electromagnetic interference (EMI). Also of
importance to consumers are the weight reduction and the much slimmer design.
c. Light-emitting Diode (LED) LED computer monitors do not use cold-cathode
technology and fluorescent technology. Instead, light diodes illuminate the screen in
one of two different ways, or a combination of both. White LED lights are clustered
around the rim of the screen and diffuse evenly, called edge lighting. LED lights are
also spaced evenly behind the screen, and they are either not controlled or are
controlled with a “local dimming” option. If you are looking for an LED monitor, look for
this local dimming on/off option.
d. Plasma Monitors A plasma display is a computer video display in which each pixel
on the screen is illuminated by a tiny bit of plasma or charged gas, somewhat like a
tiny neon light. Plasma displays are thinner than cathode ray tube (CRT) displays and
brighter than liquid crystal displays (LCD). Plasma displays are sometimes marketed
as “thin-panel” displays and can be used to display either analog video signals or
display digital computer input.
e. Organic Light Emiting Display (OLED) Monitors OLED monitors are flat computer
displays which consist of pixels made from OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Diodes)
rather than liquid crystal filled units. Unlike LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) technology,
OLED does not require backlighting to function.
The principle of this technology is that when current flows between a cathode and an
anode, an emissive layer of organic molecules sandwiched between these electrodes
can become illuminated (electroluminescence). For this to happen efficiently, a layer
known as the conductive layer, made up of organic plastic molecules such as
polyfluorene, lies between the emissive layer and the anode. The anode is positively
charged and therefore draws electrons from the conductive layer, leaving the
conductive layer with a positive charge that draws electrons from the emissive layer.
Light is emitted as a by-product, in a process known as electro phosphorescence.
Speakers A computer speaker is a hardware device that connects to a computer to
generate sound. The signal used to produce the sound that comes from a computer
speaker is created by the computer’s sound card. They receive audio input from the
computer’s sound card and produce audio output in the form of sound waves.
Plotter A plotter is a special output device used to produce hard copies of large graphs
and designs on paper, such as construction maps, engineering drawings, architectural
plans and business charts.
There are two main types of plotters
● Drum plotter
● Flatbed plotter
Drum Plotters: These are also called roller plotters. They spin the paper back and
forth on a cylindrical drum while the ink pens move left and right. By combining these
two directions, lines can be drawn in any direction.
Flatbed plotters: have a large horizontal surface on which the paper is placed. A
travelling bar draws lines on the paper as it moves across the surface.
Projector A projector is an output device that can take images generated by a
computer and reproduce them onto a screen, wall, or other surface. Typically, the
surface projected onto is large, flat, and lightly coloured.
Projectors can produce either still (slides) or moving images (videos). Projectors allow
users to change display preferences, including brightness, sharpness and colour
settings, in the same way a standard television would

SOFTWARE
Software is a collection of instructions that enable the user to interact with a computer,
its hardware, or perform tasks.
Software is of three main types:
● System Software
● Application Software
● Mobile Applications System

Software It is a type of computer program that is designed to run a computer’s

hardware and application programs. The system software is the interface
between the hardware and user applications. The system software includes:
● Operating system
● Utility software
● Device Drives
● Language Processors
Operating System An operating system (OS) is an interface between a computer
user and computer hardware. It is the program that, after being initially loaded into the
computer by a boot program, manages all the other programs in a computer.
The primary objective of an operating system is to make computer system convenient
to use and to utilize computer hardware in an efficient manner. The operating system
performs basic tasks such as receiving input from the keyboard, processing
instructions and sending output to the screen.
Operating system manages overall activities of the computer and the input/output
devices attached to it. It is the first software you see when you turn on the computer,
and the last software you see when the computer is turning off. It is the software that
enables all the programs you use. Windows iOS Mac OS Chrome OS Linux Android
Examples of computer operating systems are Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS,
Ubuntu Linux, Google Android, iOS and Chrome OS.
Utility Software A utility software is computer system software intended to analyze,
configure, monitor, or help to maintain a computer.
Typically a utility is smaller than a program in size and may be included with an
operating system.
Examples of utility programs are:
● Antivirus Software
● Backup Software
● Encryption and decryption software
Antivirus Software: Antivirus software, as the name suggests, helps to protect a
computer system from viruses and other harmful programs. A computer virus is a
computer program that can cause damage to a computer’s software, hardware or data.
It is referred to as a virus because it has the capability to replicate itself and hide inside
other computer files.
Antivirus software scans your online activity to make sure you are not downloading
infected files. New viruses are coming out all the time, so antivirus software should be
updated very frequently. Examples of Antivirus software are: ● Norton Antivirus
● AVG Antivirus
● Avast Antivirus
● McAfee Virus Scan
Backup software: Backup software helps in the creation of a backup of the files on
your computer. Most computer systems use a hard disk drive for storage.
While these are generally very robust, they can fail or crash, resulting in data loss.
Backup software helps you copy the most important files to another storage device,
such as an external hard disk. You can also make an exact copy of your hard disk.
Examples of Backup software are:
● Veeam ● Acronis Backup and Recovery Software
● CloudBerry ● NetApp
Encryption/decryption software: Encryption is the conversion of electronic data into
another form, called cipher text, which cannot be easily understood by anyone. Cipher
text is encrypted text.
Plaintext is what you have before encryption, and cipher text is the encrypted result.
Decryption is the process of converting encrypted data back to its original form which
can be understood by the computer.
Device Driver A device driver is a software that tell the operating system and other
software how to control a particular type of device that is attached to a computer.

Application Software
Application software is a term which is used for software created for a specific purpose.
It is generally a program or collection of programs used by end users. It can be called
an application or simply an app.
Application software can be divided into three categories.
● General Purpose Application software
● Specific Purpose Application software
● Customized software
General Purpose Application Software General purpose application software is a
type of application that can be used for a variety of tasks. It is not limited to one
particular function.
General-purpose applications are sometimes bundled together in a package called a
suite. An office suite, for example, includes applications an office worker is likely to
use. A graphics suite provides applications for creating and editing different types of
graphics and animations.
Word processing: Word processors create text based documents. This set of
software tools is most flexible and widely used. Word processors are used for creating
memos, faxes and letters.
Word processors are also used to create reports and personalized pages on the Web.
Top 3 Word Processing Software: Microsoft Word, Lotus Word Pro and Corel
WordPerfect Word processors make the processes like editing and formatting on text
documents quick and precise.
Spreadsheet: Spreadsheets organize, analyze and chart/graph numerical data such
as financial reports and budgets. These programs are responsible for manipulation of
data and creation of workbook files comprising of one/more related worksheets. A
worksheet or spreadsheet is a rectangle grid of rows and columns intersecting to
create cells. Text entries or labels provide a structure to the worksheet through
descriptions. Numeric entries can be a set of numbers or formula for calculating and
processing information; functions are prewritten formulas to perform calculations.
Spreadsheets involve ranges, text and numeric entries, functions, formulas, charts,
calculations and what if analysis.
c. Presentation software: Presentation software is used to create presentations that
communicate ideas, messages, and other information to a group of people through a
slide show.
You can use a clip gallery to enhance your presentation with clip art images, pictures,
video clips, and audio clips.
d. Database Management System: Database software allows you to create and
manage a database. A database is a collection of data organized to allow access,
retrieval, and modification of that data.
A query is used to retrieve data according to specified criteria, which are restrictions
the data must meet. Databases are used in offices, educational setups and
organizations of different types.
Database is a collection of relational data, which is an electronic equivalent of a filing
cabinet. Features include tools for sorting, filtering, creating forms, defining criteria and
authoring reports. DBMS is able to bring information stored in separate tables through
queries, forms and reports.
DBMS is created through a plan where you design the basic structure of the system
and employees can create table structure through specification of fields, data types as
well as primary key fields.

b. Reservation System: A computer reservation system is a computerized system

used to store and retrieve information and conduct transactions related to air travel,
hotels, car rental, or other activities.
c. HR Management Software: It is a systematic way of storing data & information for
each individual employee to aid planning, decision making & submitting of returns and
reports to the external agencies.
It is a method by which an organization collects, analyses & reports the information
about people and job. The function of the human resources department involves
tracking employee history, skills, abilities, salaries, and accomplishments.
Attendance System: This system is used for maintaining attendance records of an
employee. Most companies use this system online. With this system, the employees
would be able to apply for leaves online, and the managers would be able to approve
for the same online.
Payroll System: This system makes the computation of employee salaries quite easy.
With different payroll components, along with taxes, it can calculate salaries with the
leave management process and prepare the payroll every month.
d. Inventory Control System: The inventory control system is maintained by every
firm to manage its inventories efficiently. Inventory is the stock of products that a
company manufactures for sale and the components or raw materials that make up
the product.
e. Billing System: A billing system is used by companies to make it easier for their
clients to pay bill. This system collects information from a client and facilitates
payments.
The main purpose of a billing system is to make life easier for a customer. It is a basic
customer care tool which also ensures that the company obtains payments in time.
Before setting up a billing account, the personal information of customers is analyzed.
The system ensures that the payments are made in due time and it also provides ease
of payment to customers.
Customised Software Customised software is a computer program or web
application that is specifically designed for a particular purpose, department or
company.
The software is owned by the customer and can incorporate features from other
software programs.
Customised software is written and designed to meet the client’s specific business
processes. Custom software produces the most efficient system as it is can provide
support for the specific needs of the business.
The main disadvantages of custom software are time and cost involved in the
development. This is also known as tailor-made software.
Mobile Application A mobile application, most commonly referred to as an app, is a
type of application software designed to run on a mobile device, such as a smartphone
or tablet computer. They turn mobile devices into miniature powerhouses of function
and fun. Some devices come preloaded with some mobile apps courtesy of their
manufacturers but many more apps are available through device-specific app stores.
LET’S REFRESH YOUR MEMORY
● Two main components of computer are Hardware and Software. Computer
hardware is the collection of all the parts you can physically touch. Computer software
is the part, which you cannot touch
● An input device is any hardware device that sends data to a computer, allowing you
to interact with and control the computer.
● Commonly used input devices are Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick, Scanner,
Microphone, OCR, MICR, Light Pen, Barcode Reader, Digital Camera and Web
Camera.
● An output device is a computer hardware that receives data from a computer and
is used to transfer data out of the computer in the form of text, images, sounds, or
other media.
● Commonly used output devices are Printer, Monitor, speaker etc.
● Software is a collection of instructions that enable the user to interact with a
computer, its hardware, or perform tasks. Two categories of software are System
software and Application software.
● System software runs the computer’s hardware and application programs.
● Operating system is an interface between a computer user and computer hardware.
● A utility software is computer system software intended to analyze, configure,
monitor, or help to maintain a computer.
● Antivirus software helps to protect a computer system from viruses and other harmful
programs.
● Backup software helps in the creation of a backup of the files on your computer.
● Encryption is the conversion of electronic data into another form, called cipher text,
which cannot be easily understood by anyone.
● The programs which translate the program written in a programming language by
the user into an executable program is known as language processors.
● Application software is a term which is used for software created for a specific
purpose.
● General purpose application software is a type of application that can be used for a
variety of tasks.
● A mobile application, most commonly referred to as an app, is a type of application
software designed to run on a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet computer.