Hardware and Software

Hardware and Software

1. The physical components that make up a computer system.

2. Hardware components

   • Internal
     • Central Processing Unit
     • Mother board
     • Random Access Memory
     • Read Only Memory
     • Graphics Card
     • Sound card
     • Hard Dish Drive
     • Solid State Drive
   • External
     • Speakers
     • Camera
     • Magnetic Ink Character Reader
     • Optical Mark Reader
     • Optical Character Reader
   • Storage Devices
     • Stores data and software for later use
     • Magnetic Tape Drive
     • Hard Disk Drive

3. Components of a computer system

   • Input Devices
     • Provides data for further processing
     • Data is converted into digital data
     • Keyboard
     • Mouse
   • Output devices
     • Stage where information obtained via processing is presented to the user in a suitable format

4. The intangible programs and operating information that make a computer system.

5. Software Components

   • User Interface
     • Command Line Interface
       • Requires user to type in instructions in order to choose options.
     • Graphical User Interface
       • Allows user to interact with a computer using icons or pictures. E.G. WIMP
   • Application Software
     • Powerpoint
     • Word Processing
     • Databases
     • Spreadsheets
   • Operating Systems
     • Allows the user to communicate with the PC in a user friendly manner
     • Controls the operation of peripheral devices
     • Dealing with the loading, running, storing and errors of application programmes