Understanding Computer Components and Operations

A computer system is a combination of all the components required to process and store data using a computer.
Every computer system is composed of multiple pieces of hardware and software. l Hardware is the equipment, or
the physical devices, associated with a computer. When you think of a computer, you often think of its physical
components first, but for a computer to be useful, it need s more than devices; a computer needs to be given
instructions. Computer hardware needs instructions that control how and when data items are input, how they are
processed, and the form in which they are output or stored. Software is computer instructions that tell the
hardware what to do. Software is programs, which are instruction sets written by programmers.

A computer is an electronic machine, operating under the control of instructions stored in its own memory, that
can accept data, manipulate the data according to specified rules, produce results, and store the results for future
use.

Computers process data to create information.

 Data is a collection of raw unprocessed facts, figures, and symbols.

To process data into information, a computer uses hardware and software.

 Hardware
 Software is the series of instructions that tells the hardware how to perform tasks.
i. Application software - comprises the all programs you apply to a task such as word
processing, spreadsheets, payroll, enrolment
ii. System software – comprises the program that manages the computer such as operating
system
iii.

Accomplishes:
Computer hardware and software accomplish four major operation:

a. Input
b. Processing
c. Output
d. Storage

Together, computer hardware and software accomplish three major operations in most programs:

 Input—Data items enter the computer system and are placed in memory, where they can be
processed. Hardware devices that perform input operations include keyboards and mouse. Data
items include all the text, numbers, and other raw material that are entered into and processed
by a computer. In business, many of the data items used are facts and figures about such
entities as products, customers, and personnel. However, data can also include items such as
images, sounds, and a user’s mouse movements.
 Processing—Processing data items may involve organizing or sorting them, checking them for
accuracy, or performing calculations with them. The hardware component that performs these
types of tasks is the central processing unit, or CPU.
 Output—After data items have been processed, the resulting information usually is sent to a
printer, monitor, or some other output device so people can view, interpret, and use the results.
Programming professionals often use the term data for input items, but use the term
information for data that has been processed and output. Sometimes you place output on
storage devices, such as disks or flash media.

You write computer instructions in a computer programming language such as Visual Basic, C#, C++, or
Java. The instructions you write using a programming language are called program code; when you
write instructions, you are coding the program. Every programming language has rules governing its
word usage and punctuation. These rules are called the language’s syntax. Mistakes in a language’s
usage are syntax errors. Unless the syntax is perfect, the computer cannot interpret the programming
language instruction at all.

When you write a program, you usually type its instructions using a keyboard. When you type program
instructions, they are stored in computer memory, which is a computer’s temporary, internal storage.
Random access memory, or RAM, is a form of internal, volatile memory. Programs that are currently
running and data items that are currently being used are stored in RAM for quick access. Internal
storage is volatile—its contents are lost when the computer is turned off or loses power. Usually, you
want to be able to retrieve and perhaps modify the stored instructions later, so you also store them on a
permanent storage device, such as a disk. Permanent storage devices are nonvolatile—that is, their
contents are persistent and are retained even when power is lost. If you have had a power loss while
working on a computer, but were able to recover your work when power was restored, it’s not because
the work was still in RAM. Your system has been configured to automatically save your work at regular
intervals on a nonvolatile storage device. After a computer program is typed using programming
language statements and stored in memory, it must be translated to machine language that represents
the millions of on/off circuits within the computer. Your programming language statements are called
source code, and the translated machine language statements are object code. Each programming
language uses a piece of software, called a compiler or an interpreter, to translate your source code
into machine language. Machine language is also called binary language, and is represented as a series
of 0s and 1s. The compiler or interpreter that translates your code tells you if any programming
language component has been used incorrectly. Syntax errors are relatively easy to locate and correct
because your compiler or interpreter highlights them.

Although there are differences in how compilers and interpreters work, their basic function
is the same—to translate your programming statements into code the computer can use.
When you use a compiler, an entire program is translated before it can execute; when you
use an interpreter, each instruction is translated just prior to execution. Usually, you do not
choose which type of translation to use—it depends on the programming language.
However, there are some languages for which both compilers and interpreters are available.

After a program’s source code is successfully translated to machine language, the computer can carry
out the program instructions. When instructions are carried out, a program runs, or executes. In a
typical program, some input will be accepted, some processing will occur, and results will be output.