Week 4 Module 1 | Intro.

To Programming 1

LESSON 1.2: Hardware and Software

ENGAGE

Good day my dear students! Before we start our lesson may I ask you to answer
the following questions below?

1. What are your thoughts about hardware and software?

2. Do you think Computer can think? Why?

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EXPLORE
Are you feeling confuse to your answers on the first part? If you have time please
watch the following videos on YouTube for you to have clearer view about the questions
above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnyFYiK2rSY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV32xMD1gl4

After watching the videos, what are your realizations about computer? Put your
answers inside the box.

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EXPLAIN
Now, are you finish exploring to some concepts about computer? If that so, Let us now
proceed to the discussion of Hardware and Software.

Hardware and Software

CONCEPT: The physical devices that a computer is made of are referred to as the
computer’s hardware. The programs that run on a computer are referred to as software.

 Hardware
The term hardware refers to all of the physical devices, or components, that a
computer is made of. A computer is not one single device, but a system of devices that all
work together. Like the different instruments in a symphony orchestra, each device in a
computer plays its own part.

If you have ever shopped for a computer, you’ve probably seen sales literature listing
components such as microprocessors, memory, disk drives, video displays, graphics cards,
and so on. Unless you already know a lot about computers, or at least have a friend that does,
understanding what these different components do might be challenging. As shown in Figure
3.6, a typical computer system consists of the following major components:

 The central processing unit (CPU)

 Main memory
 Secondary storage devices
 Input devices
 Output devices

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Figure 3.6: Typical components of a computer system

Let’s take a closer look at each of these components.

The CPU
When a computer is performing the tasks that a program tells it to do, we say that the
computer is running or executing the program. The central processing unit, or CPU, is the
part of a computer that actually runs programs. The CPU is the most important component
in a computer because without it, the computer could not run software.

In the earliest computers, CPUs were huge devices made of electrical and mechanical
components such as vacuum tubes and switches. Figure 3.7 shows such a device. The two
women in the photo are working with the historic ENIAC computer. The ENIAC, which is
considered by many to be the world’s first programmable electronic computer, was built in
1945 to calculate artillery ballistic tables for the U.S. Army. This machine, which was
primarily one big CPU, was 8 feet tall, 100 feet long, and weighed 30 tons.

Today, CPUs are small chips known as microprocessors. Figure 3.8 shows a photo of
a lab technician holding a modern microprocessor. In addition to being much smaller than

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the old electromechanical CPUs in early computers, microprocessors are also much more
powerful.

Figure 3.7: The ENIAC computer (courtesy of U.S. Army Historic Computer Images)

Figure 3.8: A lab technician holds a modern microprocessor (photo courtesy of Intel Corp.)

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Main Memory

You can think of main memory as the computer’s work area. This is where the
computer stores a program while the program is running, as well as the data that the
program is working with. For example, suppose you are using a word processing program to
write an essay for one of your classes. While you do this, both the word processing program
and the essay are stored in main memory.

Main memory is commonly known as random-access memory, or RAM. It is called this

because the CPU is able to quickly access data stored at any random location in RAM. RAM is
usually a volatile type of memory that is used only for temporary storage while a program is
running. When the computer is turned off, the contents of RAM are erased. Inside your
computer, RAM is stored in chips, similar to the ones shown in Figure 3.9.

Figure 3.9: Memory chips (photo courtesy of IBM Corporation)

Secondary Storage Devices

Secondary storage is a type of memory that can hold data for long periods of time,
even when there is no power to the computer. Programs are normally stored in secondary
memory and loaded into main memory as needed. Important data, such as word processing
documents, payroll data, and inventory records, is saved to secondary storage as well.

The most common type of secondary storage device is the disk drive. A disk drive
stores data by magnetically encoding it onto a circular disk. Most computers have a disk drive
mounted inside their case. External disk drives, which connect to one of the computer’s
communication ports, are also available. External disk drives can be used to create backup
copies of important data or to move data to another computer.

In addition to external disk drives, many types of devices have been created for
copying data, and for moving it to other computers. For many years floppy disk drives were
popular. A floppy disk drive records data onto a small floppy disk, which can be removed
from the drive. Floppy disks have many disadvantages, however. They hold only a small

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amount of data, are slow to access data, and can be unreliable. The use of floppy disk drives
has declined dramatically in recent years, in favor of superior devices such as USB drives.
USB drives are small devices that plug into the computer’s USB (universal serial bus) port,
and appear to the system as a disk drive. These drives do not actually contain a disk,
however. They store data in a special type of memory known as flash memory. USB drives,
which are also known as memory sticks and flash drives, are inexpensive, reliable, and small
enough to be carried in your pocket.

Optical devices such as the CD (compact disc) and the DVD (digital versatile disc) are
also popular for data storage. Data is not recorded magnetically on an optical disc, but is
encoded as a series of pits on the disc surface. CD and DVD drives use a laser to detect the
pits and thus read the encoded data. Optical discs hold large amounts of data, and because
recordable CD and DVD drives are now commonplace, they are good mediums for creating
backup copies of data.

Input Devices

Input is any data the computer collects from people and from other devices. The
component that collects the data and sends it to the computer is called an input device.
Common input devices are the keyboard, mouse, scanner, microphone, and digital camera.
Disk drives and optical drives can also be considered input devices because programs and
data are retrieved from them and loaded into the computer’s memory.

Output Devices

Output is any data the computer produces for people or for other devices. It might be
a sales report, a list of names, or a graphic image. The data is sent to an output device, which
formats and presents it. Common output devices are video displays and printers. Disk drives
and CD recorders can also be considered output devices because the system sends data to
them in order to be saved.

 Software
If a computer is to function, software is not optional. Everything that a computer does,
from the time you turn the power switch on until you shut the system down, is under the
control of software. There are two general categories of software: system software and
application software. Most computer programs clearly fit into one of these two categories.

Let’s take a closer look at each.

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System Software

The programs that control and manage the basic operations of a computer are generally
referred to as system software. System software typically includes the following types of
programs:

Operating Systems An operating system is the most fundamental set of programs on a

computer. The operating system controls the internal operations of the computer’s
hardware, manages all of the devices connected to the computer, allows data to be saved to
and retrieved from storage devices, and allows other programs to run on the computer.
Figure 4.0 shows screens from three popular operating systems: Windows Vista, Mac OS X,
and Linux.

Figure 4.0: Screens from the Windows Vista, MAC OS X, and Fedora Linux OS

Utility Programs A utility program performs a specialized task that enhances the
computer’s operation or safeguards data. Examples of utility programs are virus scanners,
file compression programs, and data backup programs.

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Software Development Tools Software development tools are the programs that
programmers use to create, modify, and test software. Assemblers, compilers, and
interpreters are examples of programs that fall into this category.

Application Software

Programs that make a computer useful for everyday tasks are known as application
software. These are the programs that people normally spend most of their time running on
their computers. Figure 1.1, at the beginning of this chapter, shows screens from two
commonly used applications: Microsoft Word, a word processing program, and Adobe
Photoshop, an image editing program. Some other examples of application software.

ELABORATE
Are you finish to the discussion of the topic? So, I prepared some questions for you to
at least apply the knowledge you’ve gained from the discussion.

Practice Test. Give your understanding about the concepts being asked.

1) What is a program?
2) What is hardware?
3) List the five major components of a computer system.
4) What part of the computer actually runs programs?

EVALUATE
Well Done! Lesson Assessment should be given at the end of this chapter.. Please
make extra effort to answer the test items to be posted on Google classroom. I will post the
link of the examination to your GC or to your phone number. For further information, you
can contact me using these details; phone number: 09392086905; email:
kayeharrissalvacion@gmail.com.

References:

https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001921.htm
https://www.aptaracorp.com/

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