HARDWARE

Hardware represents the physical and tangible components of a computer, i.e. the
components that can be seen and touched.
Examples of Hardware are the following −
● Input devices − keyboard, mouse, etc.
● Output devices − printer, monitor, etc.
● Secondary storage devices − Hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.
● Internal components − CPU, motherboard, RAM, etc.

Relationship between Hardware and Software

● Hardware and software are mutually dependent on each other. Both of them must work
together to make a computer produce a useful output.
● Software cannot be utilized without supporting hardware.
● Hardware without a set of programs to operate upon cannot be utilized and is useless.
● To get a particular job done on the computer, relevant software should be loaded into
the hardware.
● Hardware is a one-time expense.
● Software development is very expensive and is a continuing expense.
● Different software applications can be loaded on a hardware to run different jobs.
● A software acts as an interface between the user and the hardware.
● If the hardware is the 'heart' of a computer system, then the software is its 'soul'. Both
are complementary to each other.
SOFTWARE
Software is a set of programs, which is designed to perform a well-defined function.
A program is a sequence of instructions written to solve a particular problem.
There are two types of software −

● System Software
● Application Software

System Software
The system software is a collection of programs designed to operate, control, and
extend the processing capabilities of the computer itself. System software is
generally prepared by the computer manufacturers. These software products
comprise of programs written in low-level languages, which interact with the
hardware at a very basic level. System software serves as the interface between
the hardware and the end users.
Some examples of system software are Operating System, Compilers, Interpreter,
Assemblers, etc.

Here is a list of some of the most prominent features of a system software −

● Close to the system

● Fast in speed
● Difficult to design
● Difficult to understand
● Less interactive
● Smaller in size
● Difficult to manipulate
● Generally written in low-level language

Application Software
Application software products are designed to satisfy a particular need of a
particular environment. All software applications prepared in the computer lab can
come under the category of Application software.
Application software may consist of a single program, such as Microsoft's notepad
for writing and editing a simple text. It may also consist of a collection of programs,
often called a software package, which work together to accomplish a task, such as
a spreadsheet package.
Examples of Application software are the following −

● Payroll Software
● Student Record Software
 ● Inventory Management Software
● Income Tax Software
● Railways Reservation Software
● Microsoft Office Suite Software
● Microsoft Word
● Microsoft Excel
● Microsoft PowerPoint

Features of application software are as follows −

● Close to the user

● Easy to design
● More interactive
● Slow in speed
● Generally written in high-level language
● Easy to understand
● Easy to manipulate and use
● Bigger in size and requires large storage space
MEMORY
A memory is just like a human brain. It is used to store data and instructions.
Computer memory is the storage space in the computer, where data is to be
processed and instructions required for processing are stored. The memory is
divided into large number of small parts called cells. Each location or cell has a
unique address, which varies from zero to memory size minus one. For example, if
the computer has 64k words, then this memory unit has 64 * 1024 = 65536 memory
locations. The address of these locations varies from 0 to 65535.
Memory is primarily of three types −

● Cache Memory
● Primary Memory/Main Memory
● Secondary Memory

Cache Memory
Cache memory is a very high speed semiconductor memory which can speed up
the CPU. It acts as a buffer between the CPU and the main memory. It is used to
hold those parts of data and program which are most frequently used by the CPU.
The parts of data and programs are transferred from the disk to cache memory by
the operating system, from where the CPU can access them.

Advantages

The advantages of cache memory are as follows −

● Cache memory is faster than main memory.

● It consumes less access time as compared to main memory.
● It stores the program that can be executed within a short period of time.
● It stores data for temporary use.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of cache memory are as follows −

● Cache memory has limited capacity.

● It is very expensive.
Primary Memory (Main Memory)
Primary memory holds only those data and instructions on which the computer is
currently working. It has a limited capacity and data is lost when power is switched
off. It is generally made up of semiconductor device. These memories are not as
fast as registers. The data and instruction required to be processed resides in the
main memory. It is divided into two subcategories RAM and ROM.

Characteristics of Main Memory

● These are semiconductor memories.
● It is known as the main memory.
● Usually volatile memory.
● Data is lost in case power is switched off.
● It is the working memory of the computer.
● Faster than secondary memories.
● A computer cannot run without the primary memory.

RAM
RAM (Random Access Memory) is the internal memory of the CPU for storing data,
program, and program result. It is a read/write memory which stores data until the
machine is working. As soon as the machine is switched off, data is erased.

Access time in RAM is independent of the address, that is, each storage location
inside the memory is as easy to reach as other locations and takes the same
amount of time. Data in the RAM can be accessed randomly but it is very
expensive.
RAM is volatile, i.e. data stored in it is lost when we switch off the computer or if
there is a power failure. Hence, a backup Uninterruptible Power System (UPS) is
often used with computers. RAM is small, both in terms of its physical size and in
the amount of data it can hold.
RAM is of two types −

● Static RAM (SRAM)

● Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

Static RAM (SRAM)

The word static indicates that the memory retains its contents as long as power is
being supplied. However, data is lost when the power gets down due to volatile
nature. SRAM chips use a matrix of 6-transistors and no capacitors. Transistors do
not require power to prevent leakage, so SRAM need not be refreshed on a regular
basis.
There is extra space in the matrix, hence SRAM uses more chips than DRAM for
the same amount of storage space, making the manufacturing costs higher. SRAM
is thus used as cache memory and has very fast access.

Characteristic of Static RAM

● Long life
● No need to refresh
● Faster
● Used as cache memory
● Large size
● Expensive
● High power consumption

Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

DRAM, unlike SRAM, must be continually refreshed in order to maintain the data.
This is done by placing the memory on a refresh circuit that rewrites the data
several hundred times per second. DRAM is used for most system memory as it is
cheap and small. All DRAMs are made up of memory cells, which are composed of
one capacitor and one transistor.

Characteristics of Dynamic RAM

● Short data lifetime
● Needs to be refreshed continuously
● Slower as compared to SRAM
● Used as RAM
● Smaller in size
● Less expensive
● Less power consumption

ROM
ROM stands for Read Only Memory. The memory from which we can only read but
cannot write on it. This type of memory is non-volatile. The information is stored
permanently in such memories during manufacture. A ROM stores such instructions
that are required to start a computer. This operation is referred to as bootstrap.
ROM chips are not only used in the computer but also in other electronic items like
washing machine and microwave oven.
Let us now discuss the various types of ROMs and their characteristics.

MROM (Masked ROM)

The very first ROMs were hard-wired devices that contained a pre-programmed set
of data or instructions. These kind of ROMs are known as masked ROMs, which are
inexpensive.

PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory)

PROM is read-only memory that can be modified only once by a user. The user
buys a blank PROM and enters the desired contents using a PROM program. Inside
the PROM chip, there are small fuses which are burnt open during programming. It
can be programmed only once and is not erasable.

EPROM (Erasable and Programmable Read Only

Memory)
EPROM can be erased by exposing it to ultra-violet light for a duration of up to 40
minutes. Usually, an EPROM eraser achieves this function. During programming,
an electrical charge is trapped in an insulated gate region. The charge is retained
for more than 10 years because the charge has no leakage path. For erasing this
charge, ultra-violet light is passed through a quartz crystal window (lid). This
exposure to ultra-violet light dissipates the charge. During normal use, the quartz lid
is sealed with a sticker.

EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read

Only Memory)
EEPROM is programmed and erased electrically. It can be erased and
reprogrammed about ten thousand times. Both erasing and programming take
about 4 to 10 ms (millisecond). In EEPROM, any location can be selectively erased
and programmed. EEPROMs can be erased one byte at a time, rather than erasing
the entire chip. Hence, the process of reprogramming is flexible but slow.

Advantages of ROM
The advantages of ROM are as follows −

● Non-volatile in nature
● Cannot be accidentally changed
 ● Cheaper than RAMs
● Easy to test
● More reliable than RAMs
● Static and do not require refreshing
● Contents are always known and can be verified

Secondary Memory
This type of memory is also known as external memory or non-volatile. It is slower
than the main memory. These are used for storing data/information permanently.
CPU directly does not access these memories, instead they are accessed via input-
output routines. The contents of secondary memories are first transferred to the
main memory, and then the CPU can access it. For example, disk, CD-ROM, DVD,
etc.

Characteristics of Secondary Memory

● These are magnetic and optical memories.
● It is known as the backup memory.
● It is a non-volatile memory.
● Data is permanently stored even if power is switched off.
● It is used for storage of data in a computer.
● Computer may run without the secondary memory.
● Slower than primary memories.
You know that processor memory, also known as primary memory, is expensive as
well as limited. The faster primary memory are also volatile. If we need to store
large amount of data or programs permanently, we need a cheaper and permanent
memory. Such memory is called secondary memory. Here we will discuss
secondary memory devices that can be used to store large amount of data, audio,
video and multimedia files.

Characteristics of Secondary Memory

These are some characteristics of secondary memory, which distinguish it from

primary memory −

● It is non-volatile, i.e. it retains data when power is switched off

● It is large capacities to the tune of terabytes
● It is cheaper as compared to primary memory
Depending on whether secondary memory device is part of CPU or not, there are
two types of secondary memory – fixed and removable.
Let us look at some of the secondary memory devices available.

Direct Access Storage Device (DASD) 

A direct-access storage device (DASD) is another name for secondary storage devices that
store data in discrete locations with a unique address, such as hard disk drives, optical
drives and most magnetic storage devices.

It is a technology and term coined for storage devices that IBM developed for use with
mainframe computers and some microcomputers. These developed into the modern hard
disk and its variants like the optical disk, which today we would simply call secondary
storage.

Direct-access storage devices allow the host computer to access data directly from wherever
it is stored within the storage device because each data chunk is saved in a discrete and
separate location from other chunks, complete with a unique address. This allows the
computer to directly point to that location to get the data. Access methods include indexed,
sequential and direct (incorrectly referred as random access).

Even if the exact location of the data is known, the speed of access is largely dependent on
the capability of the storage device; for example, even if the exact data location within a tape
drive is known, the only access method is sequential access because of the inherent design
of the tape, which means it must go through all of the locations preceding the one that is
needed. Additionally, the tape cannot run very fast. This is in contrast to a direct access disk,
which can quickly spin the disk and move the read/write head to the correct track and sector
in fractions of a second.

Modern DASDs are internal and external hard disk drives that connect directly to the host
computer via an IDE, SATA, eSATA, USB or FireWire interface. Unlike network-attached
storage (NAS), DASDs become inaccessible once the device they are connected to goes
offline.

SASD (Sequential Access Storage Device): Access data indirectly

(sequential) such as magnetic tape. It is a slow memory as records are accessed in
a sequence.
Hard Disk Drive
Hard disk drive is made up of a series of circular disks called platters arranged one
over the other almost ½ inches apart around a spindle. Disks are made of non-
magnetic material like aluminum alloy and coated with 10-20 nm of magnetic
material.

Standard diameter of these disks is 14 inches and they rotate with speeds varying
from 4200 rpm (rotations per minute) for personal computers to 15000 rpm for
servers. Data is stored by magnetizing or demagnetizing the magnetic coating. A
magnetic reader arm is used to read data from and write data to the disks. A typical
modern HDD has capacity in terabytes (TB).
Hard Disk Another form of auxiliary storage is a hard disk. A hard disk consists of one or
more rigid metal plates coated with a metal oxide material that allows data to be
magnetically recorded on the surface of the platters. The hard disk platters spin at 5 a high
rate of speed, typically 5400 to 7200 revolutions per minute (RPM).Storage capacities of
hard disks for personal computers range from 10 GB to 120 GB (one billion bytes are called
a gigabyte).

FLASH MEMORY

Pen Drive
Pen drive is a portable memory device that uses solid state memory rather than
magnetic fields or lasers to record data. It uses a technology similar to RAM, except
that it is nonvolatile. It is also called USB drive, key drive or flash memory.

Blu Ray Disk

Blu Ray Disk (BD) is an optical storage media used to store high definition (HD)
video and other multimedia filed. BD uses shorter wavelength laser as compared to
CD/DVD. This enables writing arm to focus more tightly on the disk and hence pack
in more data. BDs can store up to 128 GB data
Magnetic Disk The Magnetic Disk is Flat, circular platter with metallic coating that is
rotated beneath read/write heads. It is a Random access device; read/write head can be moved
to any location on the platter 

Floppy Disk These are small removable disks that are plastic coated with magnetic recording
material. Floppy disks are typically 3.5″ in size (diameter) and can hold 1.44 MB of data.
This portable storage device is a rewritable media and can be reused a number of times.
Floppy disks are commonly used to move files between different computers. The main
disadvantage of floppy disks is that they can be damaged easily and, therefore, are not very
reliable. The following figure shows an example of the floppy disk. Figure 3 shows a picture
of the floppy disk. 

Optical Disks Optical Mass Storage Devices Store bit values as variations in light
reflection. They have higher area density & longer data life than magnetic storage.
They are also Standardized and relatively inexpensive. Their Uses: read-only
storage with low performance requirements, applications with high capacity
requirements & where portability in a standardized format is needed. 
Types of Optical Disk
1. CD-ROM (read only)
2. CD-R: (record) to a CD
3. CD-RW: can write and erase CD to reuse it (re-writable)
4. DVD(Digital Video Disk)

CD Drive
CD stands for Compact Disk. CDs are circular disks that use optical rays, usually
lasers, to read and write data. They are very cheap as you can get 700 MB of
storage space for less than a dollar. CDs are inserted in CD drives built into CPU
cabinet. They are portable as you can eject the drive, remove the CD and carry it
with you. There are three types of CDs −
● CD-ROM (Compact Disk – Read Only Memory) − The data on these CDs are
recorded by the manufacturer. Proprietary Software, audio or video are released on CD-
ROMs.
● CD-R (Compact Disk – Recordable) − Data can be written by the user once on the
CD-R. It cannot be deleted or modified later.
● CD-RW (Compact Disk – Rewritable) − Data can be written and deleted on these
optical disks again and again.

CD / CD-ROM

CD-ROM’s can be identified from the silver data side of a disc, compared to a greenish/blue
tint on CD-R’s.

CD stands for Compact Disc, and ROM stands for Read Only Memory. This type of disc, is
supplied pre-pressed with content, this can be in the form of music, data or video. Once the
disc is created it cannot be re-written to. Most CD-ROMs do not have any identifying logos,
(unless it is included in the design of the CD printing), however, a CD-ROM can be
distinguish from other types of CD formats, as the bottom of the disc is fully silver and it is
quite difficult to make out a difference in shades between the written data section of the disc,
and the section that remain data free.

CD-R: A recordable CD-R data side has a tint compared to a silver CD-ROM.A CD-R is a
writable disc, (the R stands for Recordable). This type of disc can have data burnt to it once
only. If the disc is not finalised or closed with burning, then additional content can be added
to the disc, until it reaches its full capacity. A CD-R does not allow for existing content to be
deleted off the disc.

CD-RW

The RW stands for Re-Writeable. This type of disc can have data added to it, and once the
data is no longer required, this can be deleted and new data added to the disc. In this way, the
disc can be used multiple times. A CD-RW can be written to up to 1000 times. A CD-RW
can be compared to a flash drive where the content can be wiped and then re-written with
new data.

DVD / DVD-ROM (DVD-5)

DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disc, with ROM being an abbreviation for Read Only
Memory. DVD-ROMs are supplied pre-pressed usually in DVD-video, although other
formats are available. A DVD-ROM has a silver data side, whereas DVD-R’s have a purple
die data side. A DVD-ROM has 4.7 GB of capacity or almost 7 times that of a standard CD.
.

MAGNETIC TAPE
Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin, magnetizable
coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928,
based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and
video using magnetic tape are tape recorders and video tape recorders respectively.
A device that stores computer data on magnetic tape is known as a tape drive.
Magnetic tape revolutionized sound recording and reproduction and broadcasting. It
allowed radio, which had always been broadcast live, to be recorded for later or
repeated airing. It allowed gramophone records to be recorded in multiple parts,
which were then mixed and edited with tolerable loss in quality. It was a key
technology in early computer development, allowing unparalleled amounts of data to
be mechanically created, stored for long periods, and rapidly accessed.
In recent decades, other technologies have been developed that can perform the
functions of magnetic tape. In many cases, these technologies have replaced tape.
Despite this, innovation in the technology continues, and Sony and IBM continue to
produce new magnetic tape drives.[1]
Over time, magnetic tape made in the 1970s and 1980s can suffer from a type of
deterioration called sticky-shed syndrome. It is caused by hydrolysis of the binder in
the tape and can render the tape unusable. [2]