Components of Computer

Components of Computer:-

Basically, a computer consists of four components

1. Hardware: The physical or tangible parts of the computer called hardware. Like Monitor, Keyboard, CPU, Mouse etc. 
2. Software: The set of instructions, that tells the computer, what to do and how to do.
3. Data: A collection of raw facts and figures is called data, which can include text, numbers, images, audios and videos etc.
4. User: Computer cannot do any without its operator.

Characteristics of Computer

Characteristics of Computer:-

The Characteristics of Computers can be defined in the terms of what it can do and wht it can't do? Following are some Characteristics of Computers.

SPEED :

The computer is very fast machine. It can do any task in millionth part of a second. It can process millions of instruction per seconds MIPS. Modern computers can process Trillion of Instructions per second TIPS.

ACCURACY :

The results produced by computers are 100% accurate. The accuracy of computer depends on the accuracy of software and given input.

STORAGE :

The other Characteristics of Computer is storing large amounts of data. It can store up to Terabytes of data. This data can be in form of text, books, audios and videos.

DILIGENCE :

Computer never feel sick or need a break like humans. It can perform a given task thousands of times and never feel bored,

VERSATILITY :

Computer is a versatile machine it can do two totally different tasks at the same time with 100% accuracy.

POWER OF REMEMBERING :

Computer have power to remember its work. It can store a task and provide it back to user when ever it is demanded.

NO IQ :

A computer is dumb gadget. It has no idea of its own. It is totally dependent on human as far as concerned about IQ.

NO FEELING :

A computer has no feeling like human. It didn't know about love, hunger, sadness etc. It is just a collection of parts,

Reliability :

A computer is a reliable machine. It produce results according  to given instructions and inputs. It does not add its own ideas in the output.

Automation:

A computer is automatic machine. Many computers only need first time run and then they keep doing their work without any interruption or help

Flexibility:

A computer is a flexible machine. It can do a variety of tasks. It can play songs, Brows internet or perform complex engineering calculation. It is the requirement of user what to do computer is good with all tasks.

Programming Languages

Programming Languages:-

 Programming languages are the software used to give instructions to a machine. We know that computer is a machine that only understand 0 and 1. all programs are written in programming languages that translate the codes into machine language and tell the computer what to do. There are two types of programming languages.
Low level Programming Language:-
High Level Programming Language:-

Low level Programming Language:-

A low level programming language generally machine code. only a computer (machine) can understand it. It is very difficult for human to understand it

High Level Programming Language:-

A high level programming language is specifically written in a language that is easily understood by human. In order to make it understandable for a machine special software are used these software are as followed.

Assembler:  An assembler is a software that translate the assembly language program into a machine code.

Compiler: A compiler is more powerful then an assembler because it translate a High level language's program into machine code. it also checks for errors in a program. 

Interpreter:An interpreter is a program that translates the each statement of a program into machine code one by one. As it translates only one statement of the program at a time it works very slow.

 

Linker:  High level languages include some built in header files or libraries. These libraries contains some predefined functions, these basic functions which are essential for executing the program. These functions are linked to the libraries by a software called Linker.

Loader: Loader is a program that loads machine codes of a program into the system memory. Most often these programs are part of an operating system. Operating system is responsible for starting a program.

Application Software

Application Software:-

Application Software are designed to carryout specific tasks on a computer These software are designed to used by users. These software consist of stand alone software as well as bundle (package) software. These software are further categorized in following types

• Word Processing Software
• Database Software
• Spreadsheet Software
• Presentation Software
• Enterprise Software
• Information Worker Software
• Educational Software
• Simulation Software
• Content Access Software
• Application Suites

System Software

System Software:-

 System software are software that we need to operate a computer. These software directly control the computer hardware. These software also help different hardware components to communicate with each other as well as with system. Following are the types of system software.

1. Operating System (Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix, etc.)
2. Device Driver Software

Some time device driver software are also considered as a part of operating System but I will define both separately.

Operating System:-

It is most likely a set of software, tools, utilities and some application software used to operate a computer system. The Operating system provides an environment in which a user can easily operates (controls) a computer. Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Linux, Unix, Mac OS are examples of Operating systems.

Device Drivers Software:-

The Device Driver software contains information about any device attached to a computer. It helps the computer (operating system) to recognize the devices attached with computer. Some devices automatically install their software when attached to computer. These are called plug and play devices. Other devices do need to install their drivers through control panel in computer.

Types of Software

Types of Software:-

I have previously mentioned in my post that there are four types of computer software.

1. System Software
2. Application Software
3. Utilities
4. Programming Languages

Now I will try to explain these types in detail in some next posts.

Definition of Computer Software

Definition of Computer Software:-

Sets of programs that are used to communicate with computer are called software. Or the programs that we make in the computer are called software (that we can see but not touch). Languages and Packages like MS Word, MS Excel, Basic & COBOL etc. Computer does nothing unless it is given instruction to perform.

These programs are divided into many types according to the purpose of their use. Basically their are following types of Software.

1. System Software
2. Application Software
3. Utilities
4. Programming Languages

Basic Computer Software hierarchy

Definition of Computer Hardware

Definition of Computer Hardware:-

The physical parts of Computer that we can touch (intangibles) are called computer hardware. These parts include Computer Case, Keyboard, Mouse, Hard-disk Drive, CD-ROM, Monitor, LCD, etc.

Components of a Computer

Computer peripherals

Examples of Harware

Define Computer

Definition of Computer:-

A Computer is an Electronics Device which take data as Input, Process data according to given Instruction. After processing data is shows the calculated Results as Output. It can also Store data for later use.

A Typical Personal Computer