1.2.

ComponentsinaComputerSystem
Acomputerconsistsoffollowingcomponents:
Hardware
Software
Firmware

1.2.1.Hardware
Hardwareconstitutesthetangiblepartsofcomputerlikeitskeyboard,mouse,VisualDisplayUnit(VDU
ormonitor),circuitsetc.Itisbestdescribedasallthephysicalpartsofacomputer,thepartsyoucan
actuallyseeandtouch.
Hardwareconstitutesthefollowingpartsofcomputer:
I.Caseorbodyofcomputer
II.Powersupply
III.Inputperipherals
i.Mouse
ii.Keyboard
IV.Outputperipherals
i.Monitor
ii.Printer
V.MemoryDevice
VI.Motherboard
i.CentralProcessingUnit
ii.RAM
iii.Ports
VII.Expansioncards

Outofthecomponentslistedabove,inthissession,wewillfocusourdiscussiononthefollowingparts
ofhardwareonly:
I.Mouse
II.Keyboard
III.Monitor
IV.MemoryDevice
V.CentralProcessingUnit

1.2.1.1.Mouse
A Mouse is an input device and probably has at least two buttons on it. The left button is called the
primary mouse button, the right button is called the secondary mouse button or just the right mouse
button.TherecanbeasmallwheelcalledScrollerbetweenthetwomousebuttons.Themousecanbe
usedasfollows:
Click:Pointtoanitem,thentap(pressandrelease)theleftmousebutton.Likeyouclicklinksona
website.
Doubleclick:Pointtoanitemandpresstheleftmousebuttontwiceinrapidsuccession.
Rightclick:Pointtoanitem,thentaptherightmousebutton.
Drag:Pointtoanitem,thenholddowntheleftmousebuttonasyoumovethemouse.Thenrelease
theleftmousebuttontodroptheitem.
Rightdrag:Pointtoanitem,thenholddowntherightmousebuttonasyoumovethemouse.Then
releasetherightmousebuttontodroptheitem.


1.2.1.2.Keyboard
AKeyboardisaninputdeviceandisusuallyusedwhenweneedtotypesometextinputorfillaform.
Variouskeysareexplainedbelow.
Thefunctionkeyshavesomedefinitefunctiondependingontheapplicationorprogramthatyouare
usingonyourcomputer.TherearetwelvefunctionkeysfromF1toF12.F1canalwaysbeusedto
displayhelpforyourcurrentapplication,F2canbeusedtochangenameofanyfile,F3canbeused
tosearchanytextorfileonthecomputer.Similarlyeachfunctionkeycanbeusedtoperforma
specificaction.
ThedirectionkeysorArrowkeyscanbeusedtomovethetypingcursor(theblinkingshortvertical
lineonmonitorthatindicatesthepositionoftextinsertion)atdesiredlocation.
ThenumerickeyscanbeusedtoenternumbersifwehavepressedtheNumLockkeywhichcanbe
indicatedbythelightonLockKeyindicators.Otherwise,theNumerickeysbehaveasdirectionkeys
andallowsyoutochangeyourcursorlocation.
CtrlandAltkeysaregenerallyusedincombinationwithotherkeystoperformsomespecifictaskthat
is,youcanpressallthesecombinationkeystogethertoproduceasingleinput.
ShiftKeyisalsoaspecialkeywhichcanbeusedtochangethelowercaselettertouppercaseand
viceversawhiletyping.Itisalsousedtodisplaytheparenthesis(),thequestionmark(?),the
exclamationpoint(!)andthecolon(:).Also,ithelpsindisplayingotherspecialcharacterslike@,$,#
thatarepresentonthehorizontalnumerickeypad.
Tabkeyallowsyoutomovethecursorbyafixednumberofspaces.Itishelpfulifyouwanttowrite
somethinginatabulatedform.Itcanalsobeusedtomovetothenextinputfieldwhilefillingaform.
CapsLockKeysetsaninputmodeinwhichtypedlettersareuppercase(incapitalletters)bydefault.
Thekeyboardremainsincapslockmodeuntilthekeyispressedagain.Itcanbeusefulwhenyou
aretypingaheadingorfillingaformwhichrequiresonlycapitalletters.
EnterKeycausesaformoranyothercomputeroperationtoperformitsdefaultfunction.Thisis
typicallyanalternativetopressinganOKbutton.Itcanalsobeusedtomovetothenextline's
startingpositionwhiletyping.
Esc(Escape)keycanbeusedtocancelataskortogobacktoaprevioustask.


1.2.1.3.Monitor
Monitor,alsocalledasVDU(VisualDisplayUnit)istheprimaryoutputdevice.ItlookslikeaTelevision
and has similar purpose of displaying videos or output of programs. Monitors are built using
technologies like Cathode Ray Tube (CRT monitors refer Glossary) and Thin Film Transistor Liquid
Crystal Display (TFT LCD monitors refer Glossary). We now generally have these monitors or
screensmadeofTFTLCD.

1.2.1.4.MemoryDevices
Thesearethedeviceswhichstoretheinformation.
Thetermprimarymemoryisusedfortheinformationinphysicalsystemswhichfunctionsathighspeed.
For example, it is capable of performing complex calculations and displaying the results at the same
time.
Secondary memory devices are physical devices for program and data storage which are slow to
accessbutofferhighermemorycapacity.
Primarymemorystoredonsecondarymemoryiscalledvirtualmemory.
RAM (refer Figure 1.14, Glossary), and Computer cache (refer Glossary) are examples of Primary
memory storage. Magnetic tapes, Compact Disks (CDs), Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs refer Figure
1.15)areallexamplesofSecondaryMemoryStorage.

Thememoryisorganizedintomemorycellseachstoringonebinarybit(0or1).Thememorycellsare
grouped into words of fixed length, for example 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128 bit. Each word in the
memory can be accessed by a binary address (refer Glossary) of N bit, making it possible to store 2
raisedbyNwords.

1.2.1.5.CentralProcessingUnit
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) or the computer processor performs calculations, processes
information,storesdatainmemoryandcontrolstheflowofdata.Theconventionalprocessorsaresmall
insizeandhaveallthecircuitsintegratedonasinglechip.Becauseofitssmallsize,theprocessoris
alsoknownasmicroprocessor.ItisalsocalledtheBrainofcomputer.

Aminimalhypotheticalmicroprocessormightonlyincludeanarithmeticlogicunit(ALU)andacontrol
logicsection.
TheALUperformsmathematicaloperationssuchasadditionoftwonumbers,andlogicaloperations
suchasANDorOR(referGlossary).EachoperationoftheALUsetsoneormoreflagsinastatus
register(asmallmemorywithintheCPU),whichindicatestheresultofthelastoperation.
Thecontrollogicsectionretrievesinstructioncodesfrommemory,andinitiatesthesequenceof
operationsthattheALUrequirestocarryouttheinstruction.Itmayhappenthatasingleoperation
codeaffectsmanyregisters(referGlossary)atthesametime.Itislikeexecutingaflowchart(refer
Glossary)anddependingontheconditionencounteredintheflowchartanappropriatedecisionwill
betakenandtheflowwilljumptosomeotheroperationtobetriggeredintheALU.
GarrettAiResearch'sCentralAirDataComputer(CADC)(1968),TexasInstruments(TI)TMS1000
(1971September)andIntel's4004(1971November)arethethreeprojectsthatdelivereda
microprocessorataboutthesametime.
Wealsohavemulticoreprocessorsthathaveasinglechipcontainingmorethanone
microprocessor.Thiseffectivelymultipliestheprocessor'spotentialperformancebythenumberof

cores(theindependentactualcentralprocessingunits).
Thefirstdualcoreprocessors(microprocessorshavingtwoseparatemicroprocessorsonsingle
IntegratedChipreferFigure1.16)forpersonalcomputerwereannouncedin2005.
Asof2013,dualcoreandquadcoreprocessors(microprocessorshavingfourseparate
microprocessorsonsingleIntegratedChip)arewidelyusedinhomePCsandlaptopswhilesix,eight,
ten,twelveandsixteencoreprocessorsarecommonintheprofessionalandenterprisemarketswith
workstationsandservers(referGlossary).

1.2.2.Software
Softwareisthenonmaterialpartofcomputerlikedata,programs,protocolsetc.Itisanonphysical
componentthatrunsonyourcomputerandcanbechangedbyasetofprogrammedinstructions.
ForexampleyouwatchamovieonaDVDusingtheDVDdriveinyourcomputer.HeretheDVDand
DVDdrivearebothhardware,buttheprograminyourcomputerthatyouusetowatchthismovieis
calledsoftware.ThusasmovieisstoredonaDVD,similarlythereisaprogramlikeMediaPlayerstored
onyourcomputertowatchthatmovie.Theapplicationthatyouarecurrentlyusingtoreadthistextis
alsoasoftware.
Softwarecanbecategorizedintothreetypesasfollows:
SystemSoftware
UtilitySoftware
ApplicationSoftware

1.2.2.1.SystemSoftware
It is the software used to manage and control the hardware components and which allow interaction
between the hardware and the other types of software (refer Figure 1.17). The most obvious type of
systemsoftwareisthecomputer'soperatingsystem.WewillseeOperatingSystemindetail.

AlltheprogramsandsoftwarerunoncomputerusingthemainsoftwareTheOperatingSystem.
SomepopularmodernoperatingsystemsareAndroid,iOS,Unix,Linux,MacOSX,MicrosoftWindows
andIBMz/OS(referFigure1.18).


Operatingsystemhasvariouscategoriesaslistedbelow:
Realtime:Realtimeoperatingsystemsoftenusespecializedschedulingalgorithms(referGlossary).
Themainobjectiveofrealtimeoperatingsystemsistheirquickandpredictableresponsetoevents.
Theirdesigniscalledeventdrivenortimesharingdesign.Aneventdrivendesignsystemswitches
betweentasksbasedontheirprioritiesorexternaleventswhiletimesharingoperatingsystems
switchtasksbasedonclockinterrupts.
Multiuser:Amultiuseroperatingsystemallowsmultipleuserstoaccessacomputersystematthe
sametime.TimesharingsystemsorInternetserversareexamplesofmultiusersystemsasthey
enablemultipleuseraccesstoacomputerthroughthesharingoftime.
Multitasking:Amultitaskingoperatingsystemallowsmorethanoneprogramtorunatagiven
time.Multitaskingcanbeoftwotypes:preemptiveandcooperative.

Preemptivemultitaskingistheactoftemporarilyinterruptingataskbeingcarriedoutbya
computersystem,withtheintentionofresumingthetaskatalatertime.Unixlikeoperating
systemssuchasSolarisandLinuxsupportpreemptivemultitasking.Forexample,youaretalking
onalandlinephonetosomeoneandthedoorbellrings.Inthiscaseyouwouldkeepthephone
calleronholdandvisitthepersonondoorandthencomebackandcontinuewiththetelephone
call.Itshowsherethattheringingofthedoorbellwasataskhavinghigherpriorityforwhichyou
couldsuspendthecurrentnormalpriorityphonecall.
Cooperativemultitaskingisachievedbyrelyingoneachprocesstogivetimetotheother
processesinadefinedmanner.16bitversionsofMicrosoftWindows(MicrosoftWindows1.0to
3.0and9xversionswhichstillsupporttheolderwindowsversions.Thesesystemsusuallyhangor
stoprespondingincaseonerunningprogramdoesnotcooperatetoyieldtheprocessortosome
otherprogram)usedcooperativemultitasking.MacOSversionsbeforetoOSXusedtosupport
cooperativemultitasking.
Singletasking:ASingleTaskingsystemhasonlyonerunningprogram(referGlossary).ThePalm
OSforPalmhandheldcomputersisanexampleofasingleuserandsingletaskoperatingsystem.
Distributed:Adistributedoperatingsystemmanagesagroupofindependentcomputersandmakes
themappeartobeasinglecomputer.Thenetworkedcomputersworkingasagroupincooperation,
makeadistributedsystem.
Embedded:Embeddedoperatingsystemsaredesignedtobeusedinembeddedcomputersystems.
ThesearedesignedtooperateonmachineslikePDAswithlessautonomy.Theyoperatewitha
limitednumberofresources,areverycompactandextremelyefficientbydesign.Minix3and

WindowsCEareexamplesofembeddedoperatingsystems

1.2.2.2.UtilitySoftware
ItissoftwaresuchasantivirussoftwarelikeNortonandMcAfee,orMicrosoftSecurityEssentialswhich
help to maintain and protect the computer system but may not directly interface with the hardware.
UtilitieslikeWinziphelptocombineandcompressdatafilessothattheyoccupylessmemoryandcan
beeasilysentinmails.

1.2.2.3.ApplicationsSoftware
Alsoknownasapps,thesearedesignedtoallowtheuserofthesystemcompleteaspecifictaskorset
of tasks. Apps include programs like web browsers, games and office software. They are usually the
reasonyouboughtthecomputersysteminthefirstplace(referFigure1.19).

1.2.3.Firmware
It is the combination of persistent memory (long term or permanent storage which is preserved even
whenthepowersupplyisunavailable),programcodeandthedatastoredinit.
Itissoftwarestoredinhardware.
Examplesincludeembeddedsystemsliketrafficlightsandremotecontrol.
Letusunderstandfirmwareusingremotecontrol.Whenyouopenaremotecontrolyouseeasetof
circuitswhichalongwiththebodyoftheremotecontrolconstitutesthehardwarepart.Nowyoucan
moveorswitchchannelsusingtheremotecontroloryoucanputachildlockforthesame.Alsoyou
canusetheswapbuttonontheremotecontroltogobacktothepreviousviewedchannel.Sothe
remotecontrolisabletorememberwhichisthemostrecentchannelyouviewedoryourcolor
preferences.Thispartconstitutesthesoftwareanddatastoredinyourremotecontrol.
Changingthefirmwareofadevicemayrarelyorneverbedoneduringitslifetime.Somefirmware
memorydevicesarepermanentlyinstalledandcannotbechangedatall.Deviceslikeprinters,

scanners,camerasandUSBdriveshavefirmwarestoredinternally.

RelatedMaterial/VideoLinks:
Hardware:http://nptel.ac.in/courses/106106092/3
Software:http://nptel.ac.in/courses/106106092/2
Firmware:http://nptel.ac.in/courses/108102045/