COMPUTER HARDWARE

Mr. P Gavai
 COMPUTER HARDWARE

• Definition of computer hardware

• The 4 basic components of a computer
and their functions
• Types of input devices
• Types of output devices
• Types of storage devices
• Computer ports
• Computer memory
 DEFINITION
• Hardware represents the physical and
tangible components of a computer, i.e.
the components that can be seen and
touched.
Functions of the units of a
computer system
 COMPUTER MEMORY
Cache memory
Main memory
Secondary memory
 Keyboard
• The most commonly available computer
keyboard has 104 keys. The keys are
categorized as:
• Alphanumeric keys, including letters &
numbers
• Punctuation keys, such as colon (:), semicolon
(;) Question mark (?), Single & double quotes
• Special keys such as arrow keys, control keys,
function keys (F1 to F12), HOME, END etc.
COMPUTER PORTS
 COMPUTER SOFTWARE
• System Software (Operating System)
• Application Software (Ms Word, Ms Excel
etc)
 System Software
• is a collection of programs designed to
operate, control, and extend the processing
capabilities of the computer itself.
• serves as the interface between the
hardware and the end users.
• System software acts behind the scenes to
manage resources and operations of a
computer system
 Operating System
• Is the software that manages the resources of a
computer system and schedules its operation.
• Functions of an OS are;
– Processor management
– Memory management
– Input / Output management
– File management
– Establishment and enforcement of a priority
system
– Facilitates easy communication
 Types of user interfaces
• CUI (Character User Interface)
• GUI (Graphical User Interface)
 Application Software
• products designed to satisfy a particular
need of a particular environment.
• may consist of a single program, such as
Microsoft's notepad for writing and editing a
simple text
• may also consist of a collection of
programs, often called a software package,
which work together to accomplish a task
 Application/program Purpose/function

Microsoft Word Processing packages that are responsible for creating, editing and printing of documents. The extend their capabilities to include checking spelling and
grammar, drawing tables, mail merge, print many copies of one document, typing in various font styles, colours, underlining, inserting pictures, plus
looking for words with a similar meaning to the one typed (thesaurus)

Microsoft Excel Designed for working with numbers in terms of arithmetic (addition, multiplication, subtraction, division), sorting from the highest to the lowest or
vice-versa, drawing tables, using mathematical functions such as sine, cosine, average, randomize, to perform complex calculations such as
regression. Managers use spreadsheets in carrying what-if computations to determine the impact a certain move or decision might have on the
profitability or future of the business.

Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation tool that supports text, shapes, graphics, pictures and multimedia along with integration with other Microsoft
Office products like Excel. This software is used to display the information in the form of slide show. The three main functions of presentation software
is editing that allows insertion and formatting of text, including graphics in the text and executing the slide shows. The best example for this type of
application software is Microsoft PowerPoint.

Microsoft Access Designed for handling and manipulation of large volumes of data. Consider the example of a university that keeps each and every detail about every
student and should the data be required (i.e. in terms of fees due, results or residential status, level, department etc) it is instantly retrieved.

Payroll Software Automates the management of employees' salaries, wages, bonuses and deductions.

Multimedia software Media players and real players are the examples of multimedia software. This software will allow the user to create audio and videos. The different forms
of multimedia software are audio converters, players, burners, video encoders and decoders.
 Factors to consider when
buying computer software
• In groups of 4, highlight factors to consider
when buying computer software
 Databases
•A database is an organised collection of
data with minimum duplication to
service many applications at the same
time by storing and managing data so
that they appear to be in one location.

•A record is made up of fields. A field is

a single descriptive item of a record or a
transaction.
 Databases(continued)
• Database management system is special
software used to create and maintain a database
and enable individual business applications to
extract the data they need without having to
create separate files or data definitions in their
computer programmes. 

• The database management system acts as the

interface between the application programmes
and the data.
 Advantages of databases
• Data redundancy is reduced
• Response time is faster
• Security and privacy feature