Hardware Devices
following are the main hardware devices in any computer system:
- input devices i.e. Keyboards, mouse, Microphones etc.
- output devices i.e. Printers, speakers, monitors etc.
- main memory comprising of RAM and ROM.
- I/O Device i.e. Driver, Terminals, Touch Screen etc.
- Secondary Memory i.e. Hard disk, Floppy disk, Compact disk, Tape etc.
- Inter-connectors i.e. Cables, Ports, Buses etc.
- Networking Devices i.e. Modem, Bridge, Router etc.
Software Classification
Software can be classified into following main two categories:
- System Software
- Application Software
System software: System software is used to control the usage and allocation of different hardware components and enables the other application programs to execute. For example,
- Operating Systems
- Utility Programs (Backup/Restore)
- Drivers
The system software may be a combination of many such programs
Application Software: application software is the software that has been developed to solve a specific problem or to provide audio, video, or multimedia entertainment to the users. It may be categorized as under
- Custom-built
- Packaged
Custom-built software: this is the software that is designed and developed for a particular customer. The custom-built software is discussed in detail in the section 1.6 (systems development).
Packaged software: this software is the kind of off-the-shelf programs or components, developed for sale to the potential software developers/users for their use. The examples are: MS-Word, MS-Power point, Personal Oracle etc. few of these are discussed in the coming chapters.
