APPENDIX A

Hardware and
Software Basics

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Overview

 HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS

• Hardware Basics
• Computer Categories
• Software Basics
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INTRODUCTION
 Information technology (IT) - Any
computer-based tool that people use to work
with information and support the information
and information-processing needs of an
organization
• Hardware - Consists of the physical devices
associated with a computer system
• Software - The set of instructions that the
hardware executes to carry out specific tasks
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HARDWARE BASICS
 Computer - An electronic device operating under the
control of instructions stored in its own memory that can
accept, manipulate, and store data
 Hardware components include:
1. Central processing unit (CPU)
2. Primary storage
3. Secondary storage
4. Input device
5. Output device
6. Communication device
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HARDWARE BASICS
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HARDWARE BASICS
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HARDWARE BASICS
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HARDWARE BASICS
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Central Processing Unit

 Central processing unit (CPU) (or microprocessor) -
The actual hardware that interprets and executes the
program (software) instructions and coordinates how all
the other hardware devices work together
 Control unit - Interprets software instructions and literally
tells the other hardware devices what to do, based on the
software instructions
 Arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) - Performs all arithmetic
operations (for example, addition and subtraction) and all
logic operations (such as sorting and comparing numbers)
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Central Processing Unit

 The number of CPU cycles per second
determines the speed of a CPU
• Megahertz (MHz) - The number of millions of
CPU cycles per second
• Gigahertz (GHz) - The number of billions of
CPU cycles per second
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Central Processing Unit

 CPU speed factors
• Clock speed
• Word length
• Bus width
• Chip line width
 Binary digit (bit) - The smallest unit of information that a
computer can process
 Byte - A group of eight bits representing one natural language
character
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Advances in CPU Design

 Complex instruction set computer (CISC) chip -
Type of CPU that can recognize as many as 100 or
more instructions, enough to carry out most
computations directly
 Reduced instruction set computer (RISC) chip -
Limit the number of instructions the CPU can
execute to increase processing speed
 Virtualization - A protected memory space created
by the CPU allowing the computer to create virtual
machines
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Primary Storage
 Primary storage - The computer’s main
memory, which consists of the random
access memory (RAM), cache memory, and
the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly
accessible to the CPU
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Random Access Memory

(RAM)
 Random access memory (RAM) - The
computer’s primary working memory, in
which program instructions and data are
stored so that they can be accessed directly
by the CPU via the processor’s high-speed
external data bus
• Volatility
• Cache memory
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Random Access Memory

(RAM)
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Read-Only Memory (ROM)

 Read-only memory (ROM) - The portion
of a computer’s primary storage that does
not lose its contents when one switches
off the power
• Flash memory
• Memory card
• Memory stick
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Secondary Storage
 Secondary storage - Consists of equipment
designed to store large volumes of data for
long-term storage
• Megabyte (MB or M or Meg) - Roughly 1 million
bytes
• Gigabyte (GB) - Roughly 1 billion bytes
• Terabyte (TB) - Roughly 1 trillion bytes
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Secondary Storage
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Magnetic Medium
 Magnetic medium - A secondary storage medium that
uses magnetic techniques to store and retrieve data on
disks or tapes coated with magnetically sensitive materials
 Magnetic tape - An older secondary storage medium that
uses a strip of thin plastic coated with a magnetically
sensitive recording medium
 Hard drive - A secondary storage medium that uses
several rigid disks coated with a magnetically sensitive
material and housed together with the recording heads in a
hermetically sealed mechanism
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Optical Medium
 Optical medium types include:
• Compact disk-read-only memory (CD-ROM)
• Compact disk-read-write (CD-RW) drive
• Digital video disk (DVD)
• DVD-ROM drive
• Digital video disk-read/write (DVD-RW)
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Input Devices
 Input device - Equipment used to capture
information and commands
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Input Devices
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Output Devices
 Monitors
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Output Devices
 Printers
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Communication Devices
 Communication device - Equipment
used to send information and receive it
from one location to another
• Dial-up access
• Cable
• Digital subscriber line
• Wireless
• Satellite
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COMPUTER CATEGORIES
 For the past 20 years, federally funded
supercomputing research has given birth
to some of the computer industry’s most
significant technology breakthroughs
including:
• Clustering
• Parallel processing
• Mosaic browser
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COMPUTER CATEGORIES
 Computer categories include:
• Personal digital assistant (PDA)
• Laptop
• Tablet
• Desktop
• Workstation
• Minicomputer
• Mainframe computer
• Supercomputer
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SOFTWARE BASICS
 System software - Controls how the various
technology tools work together along with the
application software
• Operating system software
• Utility software
• Application software
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Utility Software
 Types of utility software
• Crash-proof
• Disk image
• Disk optimization
• Encrypt data
• File and data recovery
• Text protect
• Preventative security
• Spyware
• Uninstaller
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Application Software
 Types of application software
• Bowser
• Communication
• Data management
• Desktop publishing
• Email
• Groupware
• Presentation graphics
• Programming
• Spreadsheet
• Word processing