Software and Hardware Overview

Prepared by: Christian Emard Aniag (apss)

The first thing to remember is that our PC consist of hardware and software.

Software vs Hardware

The PC hardware includes the electronic components that we see when we open up the computer case. The PC hardware, by itself, can't really do much of anything.

Software vs Hardware

Software

Software, commonly known as programs, consists of all the electronic instructions that tell the hardware how to perform a task.

Examples of Software

Hardware

Computer hardware is the collection of physical parts of a computer system. This includes all the parts inside the computer case, such as the hard disk drive, motherboard, video card, and many others. 

Hardware and software are interconnected, without software, the hardware of a computer would have no function. However, without the creation of hardware to perform tasks directed by software via the central processing unit, software would be useless.

Input Devices

1. Keyboard2. Mouse3. Touch screen

Three main sources of input:

Keyboard- the set of keys that are used for a computer or typewriter

Mouse- a small device that is connected to a computer andthat you move with your hand to control the movement of a pointer on the computer screen.

Touch screen- a type of screen on a computer which shows options that you can choose by touching the screen

When we press on a particular place on the screen, the first layer gets bent in and touches the second layer, which then sends an electrical signal to the PC hardware consisting of X and Y coordinates of the screen. Software then does what it is programmed to do when we press on particular point on the screen.

Output Devices

1. Monitor2. Audio3. Printer

Monitor- a video screen used for display (as of television pictures or computer information)

Audio- The second type of output is audio. Again, today we take audio for granted, but in the beginning computers could not produce audible signals.

Printer- a machine that is used for printing documents, photographs, etc.

Communication- the ways of sending information

Modularity- having parts that can be

connected or combined in different ways

The PC hardware, by itself, can't really do much of anything. Our PC needs something that gives that hardware set of instructions that tell it what to do. This is what the software is used for.

Remember