Computer Hardware and Software

In today’s era, where everything is modernized, and all the processes are taking place digitally, we cannot imagine our lives without a computer. We cannot deny that it made our lives so much easier and smarter by performing multiple tasks like processing, storing, and retrieving data. It can also be used for sending emails, playing games, typing documents, browsing the web, etc. This pandemic is a life savior for many people as most of the population is doing work from home with the help of computers. A computer is an electronic device composed of computer hardware and software.

What are computer hardware and software?

The computer hardware and software are its two main components. Nowadays

the computer is becoming the most important thing for youngsters, like for kids it is used for playing games and online studies. Many places such as call centres, hospital receptions, and almost all the offices have bulks of computer setups. Many

products in the market are similar to computers like laptops, tablets, and smartphones; they also consist of hardware and software. Computers are everywhere

Now, imagining a life without computers has become impossible.

Computer hardware refers to the physical and visible components of the system which

can be touched like monitor, mouse, keyboard, and CPU; these are the basic ones.

Some additional hardware devices are also there, like printers, memory devices, sound systems, DVDs, and many more. On the other hand, Computer software refers to the system’s invisible components that manage the overall working of the system. Software is a set of procedures, programs, and routines for a computer that make it run. It is stored on a long-term external device such as a hard drive. There is also RAM, random access memory, and ROM for storage. Different types of software perform different functions like System Software, Application Software, and Utility Software.

Now being aware of this, let’s get into this softwares in detail.

• System software

System Software provides a platform for other softwares. It is usually called the computer’s brain, and it forms a network with other small softwares. System software interacts with hardware the most. Its language is not as complicated as the Application software’s language. It includes Android and Microsoft Windows, search engines, MacOS, Firmware, freeware, shareware, GNU/Linux, and many more. Windows and macOS are some of the most well-known system softwares. System software works from when the computer is turned on till the computer turns off.

• Application software

Application software is a computer program designed to help us perform different activities. Application softwares are additional softwares. It is also known as end-user programs. It has high-quality languages like Java and C++. It also performs

specialized tasks like spreadsheets, photo editing, word processing, etc. It is also used in the system as an apps browser. Application software can be turned on and off at any time. It needs plenty of storage space as it is bigger.

Some famous application softwares are Firefox, Google Chrome, VLC media, photo

editor, games, painting tools.

• Utility software

Utility software is designed to maintain a computer system’s proper and smooth functioning. It supports the computer infrastructure. Utility software is responsible for doing specialized tasks like backing up and restoring data, antivirus, defragmentation, and Task scheduling.

• Task scheduling

It provides basic task scheduling facilities and can allow you to launch any script and program at predefined times. When we use Scheduling Software, it will give an alert message before executing the job. 

• Backup and restore data

It helps in backing up and restoring the essential data. There is also a software named cloud backup. 

• Defragmentation

It helps save files as fragments or different parts in various locations on the disk. It helps to move the file fragments and place them just next to each other on the disk. And it reduces the time which is needed to read the file. 

• Antivirus

This software is designed to copy itself repeatedly and attach itself to files. It helps in detecting the false and new viruses in the System. It is important to have Antivirus software because computer viruses program and data stored on your computer. 

There are many books published on computer science. They explained how computers work and the networking of softwares, computers’ language, and many more things about Software and Hardware. Some famous books are Code: The secret language of Computer hardware and software, The soul of a new machine, A dictionary of computers and many more. 

The code language varies in size, and also fonts can be changed. Not everyone can understand this language; only people who briefly know about computers understand this language. 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, we would like to mention that now we know almost everything about computer hardware and software. We have discussed all the parts and essential points thoroughly, like