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Competitive Exams Short Notes On Computers: Hardware (Disambiguation)

System software manages and controls computer hardware so that application software can perform tasks. Examples include operating systems like Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. System software performs tasks like transferring data from memory to disk. Computer software is a general term used to describe collections of computer programs, procedures, and documentation that perform tasks on a computer system. It includes application software, system software, and middleware. Software is distinguished from computer hardware, which encompasses the physical devices that store and execute software. Software is loaded into RAM and executed by the central processing unit.

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93 views

Competitive Exams Short Notes On Computers: Hardware (Disambiguation)

System software manages and controls computer hardware so that application software can perform tasks. Examples include operating systems like Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. System software performs tasks like transferring data from memory to disk. Computer software is a general term used to describe collections of computer programs, procedures, and documentation that perform tasks on a computer system. It includes application software, system software, and middleware. Software is distinguished from computer hardware, which encompasses the physical devices that store and execute software. Software is loaded into RAM and executed by the central processing unit.

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abdul aziz
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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10/19/2021 Competitive Exams Short Notes on Computers- Examrace

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Competitive Exams Short Notes on Computers
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Hardware (Disambiguation)
Hardware is a general term that refers to the physical artifacts of a technology. It may also
mean the physical components of a computer system, in the form of computer hardware.

Hardware historically meant the metal parts and fittings that were used to make wooden
products stronger, more functional, longer lasting and easier to fabricate or assemble. In
modern usage it includes equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, corners, handles,
wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts, especially
when they are made of metal. In the United States, this type of hardware has been
traditionally sold in hardware stores, a term also used to a lesser extent in the UK.

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.
System software contrasts with application software, which are programs that enable the
end-user to perform specific, productive tasks, such as word processing or image
manipulation.

System software performs tasks like transferring data from memory to disk, or rendering
text onto a display device. Specific kinds of system software include loading programs,
Operating systems, device drivers, programming tools, compilers, assemblers, linkers, and
utility software.

Software libraries that perform generic functions also tend to be regarded as system
software, although the dividing line is fuzzy; while a C runtime library is generally agreed
to be part of the system, an OpenGL or database library is less obviously so.

If system software is stored on non-volatile memory such as integrated circuits, it is


usually termed firmware.

Computer Software
Computer software is a general term used to describe a collection of computer programs,
procedures and documentation that perform some tasks on a computer system. The term
includes application software such as word processors which perform productive tasks for
users, system software such as operating systems, which interface with hardware to

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10/19/2021 Competitive Exams Short Notes on Computers- Examrace

provide the necessary services for application software, and middleware which controls
and co-ordinates distributed systems.

“Software” is sometimes used in a broader context to mean anything which is not


hardware but which is used with hardware, such as film, tapes and records.

Relationship to Computer Hardware


Computer software is so called to distinguish it from computer hardware, which
encompasses the physical interconnections and devices required to store and execute (or
run) the software. In computers, software is loaded into RAM and executed in the central
processing unit. At the lowest level, software consists of a machine language specific to an
individual processor. A machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying
processor instructions which change the state of the computer from its preceding state.
Software is an ordered sequence of instructions for changing the state of the computer
hardware in a particular sequence. It is usually written in high-level programming
languages that are easier and more efficient for humans to use (closer to natural language)
than machine language. High-level languages are compiled or interpreted into machine
language object code. Software may also be written in an assembly language, essentially, a
mnemonic representation of a machine language using a natural language alphabet.
Assembly language must be assembled into object code via an assembler.

The term “software” was first used in this sense by John W. Tukey in 1958. In computer
science and software engineering, computer software is all computer programs. The
theory that is the basis for most modern software was first proposed by Alan Turing in his
1935 essay Computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungs problem.

Developed by: Mindsprite Solutions

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