Components of Computer System- Hardware and Software

        Components of Computer System- Hardware and Software


Every computer is composed of two basic components called, hardware and software. 

Hardware includes the tangible parts of the computer which either can be seen or touched, for example, CPU, keyboard, mouse, monitor, LCD screen and printer, whereas, the software are the components which activates the physical parts.

 Software consists of features that are responsible for directing the tasks to the hardware. 

Software can be divided into other programs and data. As compared to software, hardware is a physical entity. Both hardware and software are interconnected, without software, the hardware cannot function. However, without the creation of hardware to perform tasks directed by software via the central processing unit, software would be useless.

Hardware: Hardware is basically the physical element of a computer. It is also called as the machinery or the equipment of the computer. However, most of a computer's hardware cannot be seen; in other words, it is not an external element of the computer. A computer's hardware is consisted of various different parts, but the most vital of all these is the motherboard. The motherboard is made up of even more parts capable to power and control the computer. Hardware is limited to specifically designed tasks that are, taken independently, are very simple. On the other hand, Software implements algorithms (problem solutions) that allow the computer to complete much more complex tasks.

Software: Software is known as programs or apps, comprising of all the instructions that direct the hardware in performing tasks. These instructions come from a software developer in the form and are accepted by the platform (operating system + CPU) that they are based on. Software is capable enough to perform numerous tasks, compared to hardware that can only perform mechanical tasks they are designed for. Software provides the means for accomplishing many different tasks with the same basic hardware. Practical computer systems divide software systems into two parts:

1) System Software: System software is designed for controlling and working with computer hardware. It allow users to interact directly with hardware functionality, like the device manager and many of the utilities found in the control panel. It consists of operating systems, device drivers, diagnostic tools, etc. and is almost always pre-installed in computers and smartphones, examples are Windows 10, Linux, Macintosh, Android.

2) Application Software: Application software is capable of dealing with user inputs and helping them to complete tasks. It resides above the system software and allows users to accomplish one or more tasks. It is programmed for simple as well as complex tasks. It can either be a single program or a group of programs that are referred to as an application suite. Some examples of application software are Word Processing Software, Web Browsing, Spreadsheet Software, Presentation, Graphics, Multimedia YouTube, Computer Aided Design (CAD)/Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM), sending email, accounting software, customized shopping apps and cloud based applications such as Google docs.


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