Chapter Two

Hardware And Software

Learning Objectives
 Identify and discuss the role of the essential hardware components of a computer
system.
 List and describe popular classes of computer systems and discuss the role of
each.
 Outline the role of the operating system and discuss how operating systems have
evolved over time.
 Identify and briefly describe the functions of the two basic kinds of software.
 Computer System
 A computer can accept input, process or store data, and produce output according to a
set of instructions which are fed into it.
 A computer system can be divided into two components which are responsible for
providing the mechanisms to
 input and output data,

 to manipulate and process data, and

 to electronically control the various input, output, and their storage.

 They are known as hardware and software. 

 The hardware is the tangible parts of the computer. Whereas,
 the software is the intangible set of instructions that control the hardware and make it
perform specific tasks.
 Without software, a computer is effectively useless.
 Computer System
Hardware

 Hardware is the physical components of a computer that includes all mechanical,

electrical, electronic and magnetic parts attached to it. A computer consists of the
following major hardware components:
  Input and output devices

  Central processing unit (CPU)

  Memory unit and storage devices
  Interface unit
 A brief description of the most common hardware found in a personal computer is given
in the next few sections.
 Input devices
 The data and instructions are typed, submitted, or transmitted to a computer through input
devices.
 Input devices are electronic or electro-mechanical equipment that provide a means of
communicating with the computer system for feeding input data and instructions. 
 Example
 Keyboard  is like a type-writer. A keyboard, normally, consists of 104 keys. These keys
are classified into different categories.
 These parts include the alphanumeric keypad, the numeric keypad, the arrow keys, the
control keys, and the function keys.
 Input devices

 Mouse A mouse is the pointing device attached to a computer. It is used to

move the cursor around the screen and to point to an object (such as icon,
menu, command button etc.)
 Scanner A scanner is a device that captures pictures or documents so that
they can be stored in storage devices, seen on the video screen, modified
suitably, transported to other computers, or printed on a printer. A personal
computer with a scanner and printer can function as a photocopier.
 Output devices
 Output devices mirror the input data, or show the output results of the
operations on the input data or print the data.
 A hard copy refers to a printout showing the information. On the other
hand soft copy means information stored on a storage device.
 Monitor Computer display devices are commonly known as Visual
Display Unit (VDU) or monitor.
 Printer The printer is a device that prints any data, report, document,
picture, diagrams, etc.
 Central processing unit (CPU)
 Can be thought of as the brain of the computer.
 Most of the processing takes place in CPU. During processing, it locates
and executes the program instructions.
 It also fetches data from memory and input/output devices and sends data
back.
 Physically, it is an integrated circuit (IC) silicon chip, mounted on a small
square plastic slab, surrounded by metal pins.
 Central processing unit (Cont’d …)
 The CPU itself can be divided into different functional units which are:
 Registers These are high-speed storage devices. In most CPUs, some registers are
reserved for special purposes.
 Arithmetic logic unit (ALU) It is the part of the CPU that performs arithmetic operations
 Control unit (CU) The control unit coordinates the processing by controlling the transfer
of data and instructions between main memory and the registers in the CPU. It also
coordinates the execution of the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) to perform operations on data
stored in particular registers.
 Memory unit
 A storage area is needed in a computer to store instructions and data, either
temporarily or permanently, so that subsequent retrieval of the instructions
and data can be possible on demand.
 Data are stored in memory as binary digits, called bits.
 Data of various types, such as numbers, characters, are encoded as series of
bits and stored in consecutive memory locations. 
 CPU uses registers exclusively to store and manipulate data and instructions during the
processing.
 Memory unit(cont’d …)
 Apart from registers, there are mainly two types of memory in a computer system.
 Primary memory(main memory) 
 Primary memory is the area where data and programs are stored while the program is
being executed along with the data.
 This memory space, forms the working area of the program. This memory is accessed
directly by the processor.
 Secondary memory(auxiliary memory) 
 Secondary memory provides large, non-volatile, and inexpensive storage for programs
and data.
 However, the access time in secondary memory is much larger than in primary memory.

 Secondary storage permits the storage of computer instructions and data for long
periods of time.
 Memory unit(cont’d …)
 Memory operations
 There are some operations common to both primary and secondary memory devices.
These are as follows.
 Read During this operation, data is retrieved from memory.
 Write In this operation, data is stored in the memory. Using read and write operations,
many other memory related functions such as copy and delete are carried out.
  Unit of memory 
 The memory’s interface circuit is designed to logically access a byte or a multiple of a
byte of data from the memory during each access.
 The smallest block of memory is considered to be a byte, which comprises eight bits. 
 The total memory space is measured in terms of bytes. Thus, the unit of memory is a byte.
 The capacity of memory is the maximum amount of information it is capable of storing. 
 Memory unit(cont’d …)
 Some units used to express the memory capacity are as follows:
 Kilobyte (KB) = 1024 bytes
 Megabyte (MB) = 1024 Kilobytes
 Gigabyte (GB) = 1024 Megabytes
  Terabyte (TB) = 1024 Gigabytes
 The size of the register is one of the important considerations in determining the
processing capabilities of the CPU. 
 Word size: refers to the number of bits that a CPU can manipulate at one time.
 Memory unit(cont’d …)
 Memory hierarchy
 The various types of memory used in a computer system differ in speed, cost,
size, and volatility (permanence of storage). They can be organized in a
hierarchy. The memory hierarchy in the computer system is depicted as:
Registers
Cache
Main Memory
Secondary Memory
 It shows that on moving down the hierarchy, the cost per bit of storage
decreases but access times increases (i.e., devices are slow). In other
words, from top to bottom, the speed decreases while the capacity
increases and the prices become much lower.
 Interface Unit
 The devices in a computer system other than the CPU and main memory are
called peripherals. Popular peripheral devices include printers, digital cameras, scanners,
joysticks, and speakers.
 Interface unit
 The interface unit interconnects the CPU with memory and also with the various
input/output (I/O) devices.
 The instructions and data move between the CPU and other hardware components
through interface unit.
 It is a set of parallel wires or lines which connects all the internal computer components
to the CPU and main memory.
 Interface Unit(Cont’d…)

 Depending on the type of data transmitted, a bus

can be classified into the following three types:
 Data bus 

 The bus used to carry actual data.

 Address bus memory or Input/output device 

 Addresses travel via the address bus.

 Control bus 

 This bus carries control information

between the CPU and other devices within
the computer. 
Computer System Components(Summary)

Access, decode,
Math calculations
coordinate instructions

Hold program
instructions and data
 Computer System Components(Summary)

Hardware Components in Action Execution of an Instruction

 Instruction phase
 Step 1: Fetch instruction
 Step 2: Decode instruction

 Execution phase
 Step 3: Execute the instruction
 Step 4: Store the results
 Software
 Software provides the instructions that tell the hardware exactly what is to
be performed and in what order.
 This set of instructions is sequenced and organized in a computer program.
 Therefore, a program is a series of instructions which is intended to direct
a computer to perform certain functions and is executed by the processor.
 In a broader sense, software can be described as a set of related programs. 
 Software is generally categorized as system software and application
software.
 Software(Cont’d …)
 System Soft wares
 System software is designed to facilitate and coordinate the use of the computer by
making hardware operational.
 It interacts with the computer system at low level. Examples of such software include
language translator, operating system, loader, linker, etc.
 However, the most important system software is the operating system which is a set of
programs designed to control
 the input and output operations of the computer, provide communication interface to
the user, and manage the resources of the computer system, such as memory,
processor, input/output devices etc. 
 Example: windows OS, Mac OS, LINUX OS et
Role of the Operating System
 Software(Cont’d …)
 Application Soft wares
 Application software is designed to perform specific usages of the users.
 Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power Point, Microsoft Access,
Photoshop, AutoCAD, MP3 Player etc. are some of the examples of application
software.
 There are two categories of application software, custom software and pre-
written software packages.
 Software that is developed for a specific user or organization in accordance with
the user’s needs is known as custom software. 
 A pre-written software package is bought off the shelf and has predefined generic
specifications that may or may not cater to any specific user’s requirements.
 Software(Cont’d …)
 Application Soft wares
 The most important categories of software packages available are as
follows:
 Database management software, e.g. Oracle, Microsoft SQL server,
etc.
  Spreadsheet software, e.g. Microsoft Excel.
 Word processing, e.g. Microsoft Word,
 Graphics software, e.g. Corel Draw.
  Statistical, e.g. SPSS and operation research software, e.g. Tora.
Application Program Interface
Data center(Server Farms)

 A data center is a facility that centralizes an organization's shared IT

operations and equipment for the purposes of storing, processing, and
disseminating data and applications.
 Because they house an organization's most critical and proprietary
assets, data centers are vital to the continuity of daily operations.
Data center(Server Farms)

 data centers are designed to support business applications and activities that
include:
• Email and file sharing
• Productivity applications
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) and databases
• Big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning
• Virtual desktops, communications and collaboration services
 What are the core components of a data center?

 Data center design includes routers, switches, firewalls, storage systems, servers,
and application delivery controllers. Because these components store and manage
business-critical data and applications, is critical in data center design. Together,
they provide:
 Network infrastructure. This connects servers (physical and virtualized), data
center services, storage, and external connectivity to end-user locations.
 Storage infrastructure. Data is the fuel of the modern data center. Storage systems
are used to hold this valuable commodity.
 Computing resources. Applications are the engines of a data center. These servers
provide the processing, memory, local storage, and network connectivity that drive
applications.
Thank You!