COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

Hardware: Computer hardware is the collection of physical parts of a computer system. This includes
the cpu, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. It also includes all the parts inside the cpu, such as the hard
disk drive, motherboard, video card, and many others.

MOTHERBOARD:

The motherboard connects all of the parts of a computer together. It connects the CPU, memory,
hard drives, optical drives, video card, sound card, and other ports and expansion cards directly or
via cables. It can be considered as the backbone of a computer. SOFTWARE: Software is a set of
instructions, data or programs used to operate computers and execute specific tasks. Opposite of
hardware, which describes the physical parts of a computer, software is a general term used to refer
to applications, scripts and programs that run on a device.

SOFTWARE IS OF TWO TYPES : system software and application software.

SYSTEM SOFTWARE: System software is the main software that runs the computer. When you turn
on the computer it activates the hardware and controls and coordinates their functioning. The
application programs are also controlled by system software. It is also known as background
software.

Four types of system software are the following. Operating System Utility Programs Device
drivers Language translators.

OPERATING SYSTEM - Operating system (OS) is the program that acts as an interface between the
user and computer hardware and application software. After the boot program, OS manages all the
other programs in a computer. Examples - Linux, Unix, Microsoft Windows XP etc.

UTILITY PROGRAMS - Utility Programs help to manage, maintain and control computer resources.
They are also known as service programs. Examples: antivirus software, backup software, disk
defragment, disk clean etc.

DEVICE DRIVERS - A device driver controls a device that is attached to your computer. (Printers,
Displays, CDROM readers, Disk drives etc.) All these types of devices have their own software(Device
driver program)

LANGUAGE TRANSLATOR – Language Translator translates the high-level language program (input)
into machine language program (output). It also detects and reports the error during translation.
Assembler , Compiler, Interpreter are types of a Language Translator.

ASSEMBLER – It converts assembly language program into machine language.

COMPILER – It converts the program in a high-level language into low-level language and reports all
the errors of the program along with the line numbers. C, C++ use compilers. INTERPRETER – It
converts the programs in a high-level language to low-level language. It translates line by line and
reports the error once after completing the translation process. It gives better error diagnostics than
a compiler. Python, BASIC, and Ruby use interpreters.

APPLICATION SOFTWARE: Applications software is a set of programs designed to perform a specific

task. It does not control or coordinate the working of computer. A computer can run without
application software. Application software can be easily installed or uninstalled as required.
Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Photoshop and any other software like payroll software or income tax
software are application softwares.
HARDWARE

Physical parts of the computer are called hardware.

You can touch, see and feel hardware

Hardware is constructed using physical materials or components.

Computer is hardware, which operates under the control of a software.

If hardware is damaged, it is replaced with new one

SOFTWARE

A set of instructions given to the computer is called software

You cannot touch and feel software

Software is developed by writing instructions in programming language

The operations of computer are controlled through software

If software is damaged or corrupted, its backup copy can be reinstalled

*Hardware is not affected by computer viruses #Software is affected by computer viruses

*Hardware cannot be transferred from one place to another electronically through network

#Software can be transferred from one place to another electronically through network

*User cannot make new duplicate copies of the hardware

#User can make many new duplicate copies of the software.

COMPUTER MEMORY

Memory is the best essential element of a computer because computer not only performs simple
tasks but also performs major tasks. The performance of computer mainly based on memory and
CPU. Memory is internal storage media of computer that has several names such as majorly
categorized into two types, 1.Main memory/ Primary Memory 2. Secondary Memory Primary
Memory:

Primary memory is computer memory that a processor or computer accesses first or directly. It
allows a processor to execute applications and services that are temporarily stored in a specific
memory location. Primary memory is also known as primary storage or main memory
1.RAM(Volatile Memory). 2. ROM(Non Volatile Memory).

Random Access Memory (RAM):

It is a volatile memory. It means it does not store data or instructions permanently. It is read/write
memory which stores data till the machine is working. When you switch on the computer and
perform some task the data and instructions from the hard disk are stored in RAM. CPU utilizes this
data to perform the required tasks. As soon as you shut down the computer the RAM loses all the
data. RAM categorized into following types.

1. DRAM- Dynamic memory must be constantly refreshed, or it loses its contents. This type of
memory is more economical.
2. SRAM- SRAM is faster and less volatile than DRAM but requires more power and is more
expensive. It does not need to be refreshed like a DRAM.

3. SDRAM(Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory) - A type of DRAM that can run at much
higher clock speeds.

Read Only Memory (ROM):

It is a non-volatile memory. It means it does not lose its data or programs that are written on it at
the time of manufacture. So it is a permanent memory that contains all important data and
instructions needed to perform

important tasks like the boot process.

ROM memory has several models such names are following.

1. PROM: Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM) maintains large storage but can’t offer the
erase. This type of ROM maintains PROM chips to write data once and read many. The programs or
instructions designed in PROM can’t be erased by other programs.

2. EPROM : Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory designed for recover the problems of PROM
and ROM.

Users can delete the data of EPROM thorough pass on ultraviolet light and it erases chip is
reprogrammed.

3. EEPROM: Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read Only Memory similar to the EPROM but it uses
electrical beam to erase the data of ROM.

SOME OTHER MEMORIES ARE

REGISTER MEMORY:

Register memory is the smallest and fastest memory in a computer. It is located in the CPU in the
form of registers.

A register temporarily holds frequently used data, instructions and memory address that can be
quickly accessed by the CPU.

CACHE MEMORY:

It is small in size but faster than the main memory. The CPU can access it more quickly than the
primary memory. It holds the data and programs frequently used by the CPU. So if the CPU finds the
required data or instructions in

cache memory it doesn't need to access the primary memory (RAM). Thus, it speeds up the system
performance.

SEMI-VOLATILE MEMORY:

A third category of memory is "semi-volatile". The term is used to describe a memory which has
some limited non-

volatile duration after power is removed, but then data is ultimately lost. A typical goal when using a
semi-volatile
memory is to provide high performance/durability/etc. associated with volatile memories, while
providing some

benefits of a true non-volatile memory.

VIRTUAL MEMORY:

Virtual memory is a system where all physical memory is controlled by the operating system. When a
program

needs memory, it requests it from the operating system. The operating system then decides in what
physical

location to place the program's code and data.

PROTECTED MEMORY:

Protected memory is a system where each program is given an area of memory to use and is not
permitted to go outside that range. Use of protected memory greatly enhances both the reliability
and security of a computer system.

SECONDARY MEMORY:

The storage devices in the computer are connected to the computer are known as secondary
memory of the computer. It is non-volatile in nature so permanently stores the data even when the
computer is turned off. The CPU can't directly access the secondary memory. First the secondary
memory data is transferred to primary memory then CPU can access it. Common secondary storage
devices are the hard disk and optical disks. The hard

disk has enormous storage capacity compared to main memory. There are three main types of
secondary storage in a computer system:

*Solid state storage devices(such as USB memory sticks): Solid state storage is also faster than
traditional hard disk drives because the data is stored electrically in silicon chips called cells. Within
the cells, the binary data is stored by holding an electrical current in a transistor with an on / off
mode.

*Optical storage devices(such as CD, DVD and Blue-ray discs): Optical devices use a laser to scan the
surface of a spinning disc made from metal and plastic. The disc surface is divided into tracks, with
each track containing many flat areas and hollows. The flat areas are known as lands and the hollows
as pits.

*Magnetic storage devices(such as hard disk drives): Magnetic devices such as hard disk drives use
magnetic fields to magnetise tiny individual sections of a metal spinning disk. Each tiny section
represents one bit. A magnetised section represents a binary '1' and a demagnetised section
represents a binary '0'.

HARD DRIVE:It is a non-removable storage device containing magnetic disks or platters rotating at
high speeds. The hard drives store data in segments of concentric circles. It may spin at 5,400 to
15,000 RPM.

OPTICAL DISK: an electronic data storage medium that can be written to and read using a low-
powered laser beam.
 CD-ROM: "Read Only" (used for distribution of commercial software, for example) Standard
storage capacity is 640MB.

CD-R (or CD-WORM): "Write Once, Read Many" times

CD-RW: rewritable multiple times

DVD: similar to CD, but with significantly larger storage capacity (4.7GB)

Write once read many (WORM) describes a data storage device in which information, once
written, cannot be modified

FLOPPY DISK: Floppy disk is composed of a thin, flexible magnetic disk sealed in a square plastic
carrier. Floppy disks were widely used to distribute software, transfer files, and create backup copies
of data. To read and write data

from a floppy disk, a computer system must have a floppy disk drive (FDD).

MAGNETIC TAPE:Magnetic tape used in recording sound, pictures, or computer data.

FLASH MEMORY: a kind of memory that retains data in the absence of a power supply.

PRIMARY MEMORY

The primary memory is volatile memory.

These memories are also called internal memory.

SECONDARY MEMORY

The secondary memory a non-

volatile memory.Secondary memory is known as a Backup memory or Additional memory or

Auxiliary memory. Data is directly accessed by the processing unit.It holds data or information that is
currently being used by the processing unit. Capacity is usually in 16 to 32 GB.

Primary memory is costlier than secondary memory.Data cannot be accessed directly by the
processor. It is first copied from secondary memory to primary memory. Only then CPU can access
it.It stores a substantial amount of data and information. Capacity is generally from 200GB to
terabytes.

Secondary memory is cheaper than primary memory.

MEMORY UNIT

Bit (Binary Digit)

A binary digit is logical 0 and 1 representing a passive or an active state of a component in an electric
circuit.

4 bits =nibble.

8 bits = byte.

A byte is the smallest unit, which can represent a data item or a character.

1 KB = 1024 Bytes <-------

1 MB = 1024 KB

1 GB = 1024 MB

1 TB = 1024 GB

1 PB = 1024 TB

1 EB = 1024 PB

1 ZB = 1024 EB

1 YB = 1024 ZB