Stella Connaughton

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Hardware/Software HW 6
Computer hardware: the collection of physical components in a computer
(i.e mouse, keyboard, computer data storage, hard disk, memory, etc.
Internal hardware: CPU, motherboards, hard drives, RAM. Referred to as
components.
-CPU: Central Processing Unit (processor)
-arithmetic logic unit (ALU) performs arithmetic and logical operations
-Control unit (CU), which takes instructions from memory, and decodes
and executes
-Main Memory
-fast and volatile
-where programs/data being loaded when processor is currenltly using
them
-erased from computer when power turned of
-called RAM (Random Access Memory)
-Secondary memory
-programs and data kept in storage in long term
-i.e hard disk, optical disk
-much larger and slower than main memory
External hardware: monitors, keyboards, mice, printers, scanners, etc. Referred
to as peripherals.
Input and Output Devices : allow computer to interact and give feedback with
outside world.
Input device: used to bring data into the system
-example: keyboard, mouse, microphone, etc.
Output device: used to send data out of the system.
example: Monitor, Printer, Speaker, etc.

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A network interface or touch screen monitor act as both input and output. Data
flows from the network into the computer, and out of the computer into the
network.
Software: a collection of computer data and instructions that can be stored and run
by hardware.
-divided into data and programs
-programs: any set of machine-readable instructions
-directs a computer's processor to perform specific operations and
manipulate data. ------system software: provides the basic non-taskspecific functions of the computer
-application software: accomplishes specific tasks (word processors,
internet browsers, media players, games)
Generally it should be understood that Data can exist in a variety of forms -- as
numbers or text on pieces of paper, as bits stored in electronic memory, or as facts
stored in a person's mind. Most know forms of data can be digitized, i.e. converted
to binary data and used in modern computing systems.
Data: any information that a program needs.
-ex: character data, numerical data, image data, audio data, etc.
Computer file: self-contained collection of information that has been assigned a
name
-available to the operating system and any number of individual
programs
-usually based on some kind of durable storage.
Operating system: most important program
-always running
-coordinates operation of hardware and software

Types of Data
1.
2.
3.
4.

Text (program used: word processor)

Music (program used: media player)
Web data (program used: web browser)
Keyboard data (program used: the software for the keyboard)
Input devices: (all peripherals)

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-microphone
-touchscreen
-keyboard
-mouse
-camera
-scanner
Output devices: (all peripherals)
-screen
-speakers
-touchscreen
-printer
Computer file: a resource for accessing data. Separates the data into a self
contained collection of information with a name. Can range from photos to
music to text.
File Extension: group of letters at the end of the file name that identifies the
type of file (i.e audio can have the extension .mp3)