Components of a Computer

The five classic components of a computer are briefly described below. Each component is discussed in
more detail in its own section. The operation of the processor is best understood in terms of these
components.

 Data path - manipulates the data coming through the processor. It also provides a small amount
of temporary data storage.
 Control - generates control signals that direct the operation of memory and the datapath.
 Memory - holds instructions and most of the data for currently executing programs.
 Input - external devices such as keyboards, mice, disks, and networks that provide input to the
processor.
 Output - external devices such as displays, printers, disks, and networks that receive data from
the processor.

OUTPUT DEVICES
Following are some of the important output devices used in a computer.

 Monitors
 Graphic Plotter
 Printer

Monitors
Monitors, commonly called as Visual Display Unit (VDU), are the main output device of a computer. It forms
images from tiny dots, called pixels that are arranged in a rectangular form. The sharpness of the image
depends upon the number of pixels.
There are two kinds of viewing screen used for monitors.

 Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT)

 Flat-Panel Display

Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor

The CRT display is made up of small picture elements called pixels. The smaller the pixels, the better the image
clarity or resolution. It takes more than one illuminated pixel to form a whole character, such as the letter ‘e’ in
the word help.
A finite number of characters can be displayed on a screen at once. The screen can be divided into a series of
character boxes - fixed location on the screen where a standard character can be placed. Most screens are
capable of displaying 80 characters of data horizontally and 25 lines vertically.
There are some disadvantages of CRT −

 Large in Size
 High power consumption

Flat-Panel Display Monitor

The flat-panel display refers to a class of video devices that have reduced volume, weight and power
requirement in comparison to the CRT. You can hang them on walls or wear them on your wrists. Current uses
of flat-panel displays include calculators, video games, monitors, laptop computer, and graphics display.
The flat-panel display is divided into two categories −
 Emissive Displays − Emissive displays are devices that convert electrical energy into light. For example, plasma
panel and LED (Light-Emitting Diodes).
 Non-Emissive Displays − Non-emissive displays use optical effects to convert sunlight or light from some other
source into graphics patterns. For example, LCD (Liquid-Crystal Device).
Printers
Printer is an output device, which is used to print information on paper.
There are two types of printers −

 Impact Printers
 Non-Impact Printers

Impact Printers
Impact printers print the characters by striking them on the ribbon, which is then pressed on the paper.
Characteristics of Impact Printers are the following −

 Very low consumable costs

 Very noisy
 Useful for bulk printing due to low cost
 There is physical contact with the paper to produce an image
These printers are of two types −

 Character printers
 Line printers
Character Printers
Character printers are the printers which print one character at a time.
These are further divided into two types:

 Dot Matrix Printer(DMP)

 Daisy Wheel
Dot Matrix Printer
In the market, one of the most popular printers is Dot Matrix Printer. These printers are popular because of their
ease of printing and economical price. Each character printed is in the form of pattern of dots and head consists
of a Matrix of Pins of size (5*7, 7*9, 9*7 or 9*9) which come out to form a character which is why it is called Dot
Matrix Printer.
Advantages

 Inexpensive
 Widely Used
 Other language characters can be printed
Disadvantages

 Slow Speed
 Poor Quality
Daisy Wheel
Head is lying on a wheel and pins corresponding to characters are like petals of Daisy (flower) which is why it
is called Daisy Wheel Printer. These printers are generally used for word-processing in offices that require a
few letters to be sent here and there with very nice quality.
Advantages

 More reliable than DMP

 Better quality
 Fonts of character can be easily changed
Disadvantages

 Slower than DMP

 Noisy
 More expensive than DMP
Line Printers
Line printers are the printers which print one line at a time.

These are of two types −

 Drum Printer
 Chain Printer
Drum Printer
This printer is like a drum in shape hence it is called drum printer. The surface of the drum is divided into a
number of tracks. Total tracks are equal to the size of the paper, i.e. for a paper width of 132 characters, drum
will have 132 tracks. A character set is embossed on the track. Different character sets available in the market
are 48 character set, 64 and 96 characters set. One rotation of drum prints one line. Drum printers are fast in
speed and can print 300 to 2000 lines per minute.
Advantages

 Very high speed

Disadvantages

 Very expensive
 Characters fonts cannot be changed
Chain Printer
In this printer, a chain of character sets is used, hence it is called Chain Printer. A standard character set may
have 48, 64, or 96 characters.
Advantages

 Character fonts can easily be changed.

 Different languages can be used with the same printer.
Disadvantages

 Noisy

Non-impact Printers
Non-impact printers print the characters without using the ribbon. These printers print a complete page at a
time, thus they are also called as Page Printers.
These printers are of two types −

 Laser Printers
 Inkjet Printers

Characteristics of Non-impact Printers

 Faster than impact printers

 They are not noisy
 High quality
 Supports many fonts and different character size
Laser Printers
These are non-impact page printers. They use laser lights to produce the dots needed to form the characters
to be printed on a page.
Advantages
 Very high speed
 Very high quality output
 Good graphics quality
 Supports many fonts and different character size
Disadvantages

 Expensive
 Cannot be used to produce multiple copies of a document in a single printing
Inkjet Printers
Inkjet printers are non-impact character printers based on a relatively new technology. They print characters by
spraying small drops of ink onto paper. Inkjet printers produce high quality output with presentable features.

They make less noise because no hammering is done and these have many styles of printing modes available.
Color printing is also possible. Some models of Inkjet printers can produce multiple copies of printing also.
Advantages

 High quality printing

 More reliable
Disadvantages

 Expensive as the cost per page is high

 Slow as compared to laser printer

Difference Between
Hardware and Software
The main difference between hardware and software is that
the hardware refers to physical components of a computer while
the software refers to a set of instructions given to a computer to
perform a certain task.
The components of a computer are mainly divided into two sections.
They are hardware and software. Hardware refers to the tangible and
physical components of the computer. CPU, motherboard, mouse,
keyboard, printer, and monitor are some hardware components. On the
other hand, software is a set of instructions to perform a specific task.
The software should be loaded into hardware to perform a task.
Software works as the interface between the user and the hardware. In
brief, both hardware and software are essential for the computer to
produce a useful output.

What is Hardware
Hardware refers to the physical components of a computer. These
components are tangible. Hardware is further divided into input
devices, output devices, secondary storage devices and internal
components.

Input Devices

Firstly, input devices are the components that send data to the computer. Some examples are as follows. Keyboard is a
device that allows the user to enter input data. The layout of the keyboard is similar to a typewriter with additional keys.
Another input device is a mouse. It consists of left, right mouse buttons, and a wheel. It cannot be used to enter text into the
computer. According to the mouse movement, it is possible to control the position of the cursor on the screen. Joysticks,
Light Pen, Scanner, Microphone, and Barcode Reader are furthermore examples for input devices.
Output Devices
Secondly, output devices are the peripheral devices that receive data from the computer. It can be a display, projection or
any other medium. Some examples are as follows. Monitor is a Visual Display Unit (VDU) that displays the data or visuals
from the computer. Printer helps to print the details into a paper. Latest printers are the inject printers. They are used to take
high-quality multiple printouts.

Secondary Storage Devices

Secondary storage devices are the devices that store the data until the data is deleted or overridden. These devices store data
permanently. Therefore, they are nonvolatile memory. In other words, powering off the device will not delete the data in
secondary storage devices. Hard disk, CD, DVD, Floppy disk, Solid State Drives are some examples for secondary storage
devices.
Internal Components
Most importantly, the internal components are the elements that directly connects with the main functionalities of the
computer. CPU, RAM, ROM, and motherboard are few examples. CPU is the main execution unit of the computer. It
divides further into two components: Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) and the Control Unit (CU). The ALU performs the
mathematical calculations and the logical operations. The Control Unit (CU) carries the control signals to operate other
components.

RAM which stands for Random Access Memory that stores data, programs and program results for the CPU to perform
tasks. It is possible to perform read and write operations in RAM. The amount of RAM is a considerable factor to determine
the performance of the computer. It requires more time for the CPU to access secondary storage such as hard disk for all
operations. Therefore, the RAM is used as the primary storage. It is a volatile memory. Therefore, it holds data temporary.
In other words, powering off the device will erase the data in the RAM.

ROM stands for Read Only Memory. It is only possible to read from the ROM. It is a nonvolatile memory, so the data is
permanent. It consists of the instructions required to start a computer. Moreover, a motherboard is a single platform. It
connects CPU, memory, hard drives and other ports through cables. Those are main hardware components found in a
computer.

What is Software
Software is a set of programs designed to perform a task. A program consists of a sequence of instructions. There are two
main types of software: system software and application software.
System Software
System software allows operating, controlling and extending the processing capability of a computer. This software is
necessary to run hardware and application software. They are the interface between the hardware and the end users.
Usually, computer manufacturers develop system software. The common programming languages to develop system
software are C, C++, and Assembly language.

Some examples for system software are operating system, compilers, assemblers, interpreters and device drivers. An
operating system performs task management, memory management, file handling and hardware management and many
more. The compilers and interpreters convert a high-level program into machine understandable machine code. An
assembler converts the assembly language program to machine code. The device drivers control and monitor the
functionalities of specific devices such as printers.
Application Software
Application software is designed to achieve a specific user requirement. Some application software is as follows. Word
documents allow creating documents. Spreadsheet allows maintaining financial details. Database Management Systems
(DBMS) helps in maintaining data in databases.

Moreover, there is application software designed to support particular organizational tasks. Business organizations use
Human Resource Management system to record employee details. A school or a university uses a Library Management
System to insert records of new books, burrower’s details etc.

Apart from these types, there is another software type called utility software. This type assists the tasks of the computer.
Some examples of utility software are antivirus programs, file and disk management tools.
Relationship Between Hardware and Software
 Hardware and software are dependent on each other. Both are required for the computer to produce a useful output.
Difference Between Hardware and Software
Definition
Hardware refers to the physical elements of a computer or electronic system. Software refers to a collection of instructions
that tells the computer how to perform a task. This is the main difference between hardware and software.

Categories
The hardware has four main categories: input devices, output devices, secondary storage devices and internal components.
Software is mainly divided into system software and application software.
Tangibility
The hardware is tangible while the software is intangible.
Method of Constructing
Furthermore, the hardware is developed using electronic and other materials. Software is developed by writing instructions
using a programming language.
Replacement
When a hardware component is damaged, it can be replaced with a new component. When software is damaged, it can be
reinstalled using a backup copy. Malware such as virus and worms can damage software.
Initialization
The hardware starts functioning once the software is loaded into the system. To use a software, it should be installed into
the computer.
Examples
Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Printer, Hard disk, CPU, RAM, and ROM are few examples of hardware. MS Word, Excel,
MSSQL, MySQL, Photoshop are some example of software.
Conclusion
Both hardware and software are necessary for the proper functioning of the computer. Software cannot be utilized without
hardware while hardware cannot be utilized without software. The difference between hardware and software is that
hardware refers to physical components of a computer while software refers to a set of instructions given to a computer to
perform a certain task.
Difference Between Memory and Storage in Computers

Memory

The term memory refers to the component within your computer that allows you to access data that is
stored for a short term. You may recognize this component as DRAM, or dynamic random-access
memory. Your computer performs many operations by accessing data stored in its short-term memory.
Some examples of such operations include editing a document, loading applications and browsing the
Internet. The speed and performance of your system depends on the amount of memory that is
installed on your computer. If you have a desk and a filing cabinet, the desk represents the memory of
your computer. Items you will need to use soon are kept in your desk for easy access. However, not
much can be stored in a desk due to its size limitations.

Storage

Whereas memory refers to the location of short-term data, storage is the component of your computer
that allows you to store and access data on a long-term basis. Usually, storage comes in the form of a
solid-state drive or a hard drive. Storage allows you to access and store your applications, operating
system and files for an indefinite period of time.

While the desk represents the computer's memory, the filing cabinet represents the storage of your
computer. Items that must be kept yet won't necessarily be accessed soon are stored in the filing
cabinet. Due to the size of the filing cabinet, many things can be stored.

An important distinction between memory and storage is that the former clears when the computer is
turned off. On the other hand, storage remains intact no matter how many times you shut off your
computer. Therefore, in the desk and filing cabinet analogy, any files that are left on your desk when
you leave the office will be thrown away. Everything in your filing cabinet will remain.
Primary Memory (Main Memory)
Primary memory holds only those data and instructions on which the computer is currently working. It has a limited capacity and data is lost when power
is switched off. It is generally made up of semiconductor device. These memories are not as fast as registers. The data and instruction required to be
processed resides in the main memory. It is divided into two subcategories RAM and ROM.

Characteristics of Main Memory

 These are semiconductor memories.

 It is known as the main memory.

 Usually volatile memory.

 Data is lost in case power is switched off.

 It is the working memory of the computer.

 Faster than secondary memories.

 A computer cannot run without the primary memory.

As primary memory is expensive, technologies are developed to optimize its use. These are broad types of primary
memory available.

RAM
RAM stands for Random Access Memory. The processor accesses all memory addresses directly, irrespective
of word length, making storage and retrieval fast. RAM is the fastest memory available and hence most expensive.
These two factors imply that RAM is available in very small quantities of up to 1GB. RAM is volatile but my be of any of
these two types

DRAM (Dynamic RAM)

Each memory cell in a DRAM is made of one transistor and one capacitor, which store one bit of data. However, this cell starts losing its charge and hence data stored in less
than thousandth of a second. So it needs to be refreshed thousand times a second, which takes up processor time. However, due to small size of each cell, one DRAM can
have large number of cells. Primary memory of most of the personal computers is made of DRAM.

SRAM (SRAM)
Each cell in SRAM is made of a flip flop that stores one bit. It retains its bit till the power supply is on and doesn’t need to be refreshed like DRAM. It also has shorter read-write
cycles as compared to DRAM. SRAM is used in specialized applications.

ROM
ROM stands for Read Only Memory. As the name suggests, ROM can only be read by the processor. New data cannot be written into ROM. Data to be stored into ROM is
written during the manufacturing phase itself. They contain data that does not need to be altered, like booting sequence of a computer or algorithmic tables for mathematical
applications. ROM is slower and hence cheaper than RAM. It retains its data even when power is switched off, i.e. it is non-volatile. ROM cannot be altered the way RAM can
be but technologies are available to program these types of ROMs −

PROM (Programmable ROM)

PROM can be programmed using a special hardware device called PROM programmer or PROM burner.

EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM)

EPROM can be erased and then programmed using special electrical signals or UV rays. EPROMs that can be erased using UV rays are called UVEPROM and those that can
be erased using electrical signals are called EEPROM. However, handling electric signals is easier and safer than UV rays.

Cache Memory
Small piece of high speed volatile memory available to the processor for fast processing is called cache memory. Cache may be a reserved portion of main memory, another
chip on CPU or an independent high speed storage device. Cache memory is made of fast speed SRAMs. The process of keeping some data and instructions in cache memory
for faster access is called caching. Caching is done when a set of data or instructions is accesses again and again.

Whenever the processor needs any piece of data or instructions, it checks the cache first. If it is unavailable there, then the main memory and finally secondary memory is
accessed. As cache has very high speed, time spent in accessing it every time is negligible as compared to time saved if data indeed is in the cache. Finding data or instruction
in cache is called cache hit.