Hardware and software
computer is an amazing machine that can do different types of jobs. It has different parts that work together to form a computer system.
The parts of a computer can be divided into two main categories – Hardware and Software.
HARDWARE
The physical parts of a computer that we can touch and see are called hardware. It helps us to communicate with the computer. The computer hardware is mostly attached externally to the computer, but some of the parts are fixed internally. Hard disk, memory chip, microprocessor, etc are some of the internal computer parts.
Based on its function, the hardware of a computer can be categorised into four types:
Input Devices
Hardware devices that are used to input words, numbers, sound or pictures into a computer are called input devices. The commonly used input devices are:
- Keyboard: A keyboard is an input device that allows a person to enter letters, numbers, and other symbols (these are called characters in a keyboard) into a computer. It is one of the most used input devices for computer.
- Mouse: A mouse is an input device that is used with a computer. Moving a mouse along a flat surface can move the cursor to different items on the screen. Items can be moved or selected by pressing the mouse buttons (called clicking).
- Microphone: Microphone is an input device that is used to record our voice and other sounds into the computer.
- Webcam: A webcam is an input device that is attached to the computer to capture videos. It is mainly used for video conferencing.
- 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 mostly used to play games on the computer.
- Scanner: A scanner copies a picture or text printed on a paper into the computer. There are mainly three types of scanner-flatbed scanner, sheetfed scanner and handheld scanner. The first computer scanner was built in 1957 at the US National Bureau of Standards by a team led by Russell.
Processing Device
Central Processing Unit (CPU) is a processing device in computer. It is also called the brain of computer. This is where the computer does all its processing work. It processes the data we feed into the computer and gives the output as information. It is inside the box called CPU box. ACPU is made up of three main parts. They are:
- Memory Unit: In this unit, we can store data and instructions which are to be processed and are then passed on to ALU or CU.
- Control Unit: The control unit controls and manages the working of all the parts of computer.
- Arithmetic and Logic Unit: This unit performs all arithmetic and logical operations
Output device
The devices which display the information and results are called output devices.
Output may be printouts from the printer, sounds on the speakers or images on the
monitor. The commonly used output devices are:
- Monitor: A monitor looks like a TV screen. It also displays the processed information. It is also called Visual Display Unit (VDU). The output on monitor is called soft copy.
- Speakers: Speakers are used to hear music and sounds stored in a computer.
- Printer: A printer helps us to print on a paper what we see on the monitor screen. The output printed on a paper is called hard copy.
- Projector: A projector displays images and videos from a computer on a large screen.
Storage Devices
The devices used for storing data are called storage devices. We can save our data to use it later with the help of storage devices. The commonly used external storage devices are:
- Hard Disk: A hard disk is the main storage device which stores all the work we do on a computer. It is present inside the CPU box.
- Compact Disc: Compact Disc (CD) is a round, shiny and circular disc that can store data. A CD can be read as many times as we want to and can be written and erased again.
- Digital Versatile Disc Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) is a type of optical media used for storing digital data. It is the same size as a CD, but has a larger storage capacity.
- Pen Drive: A pen drive is a small storage device shaped like a pen with built-in data storage that connects to a computer by a USB port.
SOFTWARE
Software is that part of computer, which cannot be seen and touched. To make the hardware work, we need to have software installed in it. Software refers to specially written programs that contain instruction for the computer to carry its function. These programs are written in a language which only a computer can understand. Computer software can be classified into two types:
System Software
It is a set of programs that controls the overall working of a computer. Operating system is a part of system software that makes a computer run. It manages all input and output operations. It also manages the link between the different parts of a computer and the user.
Microsoft Windows is the most popular operating system available today. It has different versions like Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Some other types of operating system are Linux, Unix, MacOS, IOS, Android, etc.
Application Software
The software which is specially designed to carry out a particular function is called an application software. These software come loaded in CDs and has to be installed on the computer system.
There are different types of application software that help in doing specific types of jobs.
- WordPad: It is used for typing and making corrections in the text.
- Paint: It is used for drawing pictures.
- Calculator: it is used for doing calculation
- Games: it is used for playing game