O 2 ICT Ch 1 Types and components

O 2 ICT Ch 1 �Types and components of a Computer systems

Types and components of computer systems 1. Hardware 2. Software Hardware is a general term for the physical components that make up a computer system: The keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer and so on. Hardware can be either external or internal. Software is a general term for the programs that control the computer system. There are two types of software: application and system.

�Hardware falls into two categories: external and internal. �External hardware �(input, output and storage devices) internal hardware devices: �● the motherboard �● random access memory (RAM) �● read-only memory (ROM) �● video card �● sound card �● internal storage devices: hard disk drive (HDD) and solid state drive (SSD).

Topic: Types and components of computer systems �Q 1: How many components of a computer system are there? �Ans: There are two main components. � 1> Hardware � 2> Software

�Q 2: What is a hardware? How many types of hardware there? �Ans. Physical parts of a computer which can be touched are known as hardware components. �There are two categories of hardware components. �Internal components. �External components.

�Internal components: these are fixed inside the system unit. Like RAM, Sound card, Processor. �External components: these are out side the system unit, eg keyboard, mouse, monitor.

�Q. What is a software? How many types of a software there? �Ans. Sotware is a set of instructions given to the computer to perform a specific task. �It is of two types. � 1. System Software � 2. Application Software.

�System software: It is used to Manage hardware components and it allows communication between different components. �It is of different types. �Eg. 1. Operating system ◦ ◦ 2. Device driver 3. Language translator

�Application software. �It is used by the users to solve their problems. �Application software can be used to perform a specific task. �Eg. Word processing software � designing software. �Database management software etc �

Q. Explain main hardware components of a computer. �Ans. There are three main components. � 1. Input devices. � 2. Output devices � 3. Storage devices

Input Devices �These devices are used to enter data into the computer. �Example. Keyboard, mic, mouse, scanner. Output Devices. These devices are used to get the results, or to display the result after the data has been processed. Eg Monitor, printer, speaker etc.

Storage Devices �These are used to store data. �These are of two types. Primary storage. Eg. ROM , RAM Secondary storage. HDD, Flash disk, CD’s etc.

Q. Write examples of Application software. � 1. word processor: it is used to create , edit and delete text documents. It also helps us to check spellings, to import/export pictures and to copy and paste things from one document to another. � 2. Spread sheet: it is used to manage financial calculations by using formulas and graphs. It is used to manipulate numerical data.

�Database: it is used to organise data in the form of tables. Each table is used to store specific type of information. Information can be extracted using queries and can be displayed in the form of reports. It allows us to add, delete and modify data.

Control and measuring software. �These software used to measure physical quantities like temperature, pressure and speed etc with the help of sensors, and then different functions can be carried out to control things automatically using computer and hardware devices. Eg opening and closing of door upon arrival of a person.

Apps. �These are the applications which run on mobile phones normally, like video games, GPS (global positioning system) and camera software etc. �Photo editing software. �These are used to edit photos and pictures stored on a computer, they can be used to change brightness, colour and contrast, and also be used to join two pictures etc.

Video editing software. �These softwares allows us to edit videos, �Rearranging, adding or removing video clips, correcting colours and creating transitions between clips. �Graphics Manipulation software. �These softwares allows us to edit images which are made up of pixels (bitmap) or line diagram(vector).

System software �These softwares are used to manage hardware components and allow to communicate between different devices and users.

Q. Write examples of a system software. �Ans. There are different types of system softwares to help the computer to run properly. � 1. Operating system: It is used to manage all the functions of a computer and runs in the background of all the activities of a computer. It provides interface to communicate, it provides security to the data, it runs H /W and S /W components.

Utility Software. �These are used to facilitate the operating system to perform its tasks more efficiently. �Eg. • antivirus � • anti-spyware � • backup of files � • disk repair � • file management � • security � • screensavers � • disk defragmenter.

Compiler �It is used to convert high level language into low level language to make it understandable by the computer for processing. It converts the whole code at a time and converts the source code (code given by the user in HLL) into object code (LLL).

Linker �It is a software used to link different pieces of codes or modules together and makes a single program. �It allows us to reuse the written code so saves time and space.

Device Driver �It is a software which enables the computer to understand the device connected to it. Example printer driver software tells the computer about the printer i-e how much data can be stored in printer buffer, what is the speed of printer, is printer coloured or not, can it print on both sides of a page etc. �It is used to run devices. With out device driver computer can not run any device.