Chapter 1

Hardware & Software

Hardware

Physical components of a computer, which can be touched & seen.

  1. Input Device: Keyboard and mouse
  2. Output Device: Monitor and printer
  3. Secondary Storage Device: Hard disk, CD and DVD
  4. Internal Storage Device: CPU, motherboard and RAM

Hardware & Software Relationship

  • Hardware and software are mutually dependent on each other. Both of them must work together to make a computer produce a useful output.
  • Software cannot be utilized without supporting hardware.
  • Hardware without a set of programs to operate upon cannot be utilized and is useless.
  • To get a particular job done on the computer, relevant software should be loaded into the hardware.
  • Hardware is a one-time expense.
  • Software development is very expensive and is a continuing expense.
  • Different software applications can be loaded on a hardware to run different jobs.
  • A software acts as an interface between the user and the hardware.
  • If the hardware is the ‘heart’ of a computer system, then the software is its ‘soul’. Both are complementary to each other.