MEANING OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

A computer system consists of hardware, the physical unit (parts) of the computer that
are capable of computing and manipulating information and software (set of instructions or
programs) that carries out predefined tasks to complete a given job. The computer performs
operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division only when the user instructs it to
do so. The user issues instructions and the CPU acts in accordance with the instructions. The
sets of instructions, which control the sequence of operations, are known as programs, and
collectively programs are called software.

We can equate hardware and software with human body and human intelligence,
respectively. All human physical actions such as walking and eating are based on the thoughts
and feelings, which is raised by the brain. If the brain does not raise thoughts and feelings, we
do not perform any physical activity. Similarly, the actions and functioning of every hardware
equipment is driven by software. The combination of physical equipment (hardware) and logical
instructions (software) gives modern computing system their power and versatility.

COMPONENTS OF HARDWARE

I. Input unit: This unit accepts instructions and data.
II. Output unit: This unit communicates the results to the user.
III. Storage unit: This unit stores temporary and final results.
IV. Central Processing Unit (CPU): This unit performs processing of instructions and data
inside the computer.

The CPU has three components:

a) The Control Unit
b) The Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) and
c) The Memory Unit.

a) Control Unit:

It controls the overall operation of the computer system. It is considered as the heart of
the computer system. It controls all the other units, directs them to operate in a proper way and
co-ordinates various operations performed.
It instructs the input device to transfer the data and instructions to the main memory and
then to the arithmetic and logic unit (ALU). Then, it sends the processed result from ALU to the
memory unit for storage and transfers it to the visual display unit or to the ' printer.

The control unit coordinates the various parts of the computer system - the arithmetic
logic unit, the memory unit and the peripheral units. Besides, it controls the flow of data into,
from and within the main storage as per the program instructions.
To perform its control operations effectively and quickly, the control unit has four basic
components. They are
(a) Instruction Register
(b) Decoder
(c) Address Register and
(d) Instruction Counter
The instruction register receives one by one the instructions to be executed in the required
sequence. Then, the operation code of the instructions is transferred to decoder, which decodes
the operation code. And it activates the appropriate circuits of the arithmetic and logic unit to
perform the operation. The address register enables the data in the location specified in the
instruction to be transferred to a specified accumulator for the arithmetic and logic unit.

b) Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

This unit performs two kinds of operations, the arithmetic processing and logical
processing. In arithmetic processing it performs all mathematical operations such as addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division. In logical processing, it performs the relational and
logical operations such as comparing larger or smaller values, true or false statements, etc.

c) Memory Unit

This unit holds the intermediate results during the course of calculations and provides the
data as and when required. This internal storage is also called primary memory or main
memory. This memory takes the data from an input device and stores it until the computer is

ready to process it. It also stores processed data and intermediate results. When the processing
is finished, it transfers the results to an output device.

SOFTWARE

Software is a generic term for organized collection of computer data and instructions. It
is responsible for controlling, integrating, and managing the hardware components of a computer
and to accomplish specific tasks. In other words, software tells the computer what to do and how
to do it. For example, software instructs the hardware what to display on the user’s screen, what
kinds of input to take from the user, and what kinds of output to generate. Thus, software
communicates with the hardware by organizing the control sequences, and the hardware carries
out the instructions defined by the software.
A computer needs to be instructed to perform any task. These instructions are given in
the form of computer programs, which are written in computer programming languages. A
program controls the activity of the processor. The moment the hardware (processor, memory,
etc.), acts as per the instructions of a program, the program is said to be in running or executing
state.
A set of programs, which are specifically written to provide the user a precise
functionality like solving a specific problem is termed as a software package. For example,
word processing software package provides functionality to the computer so that it can be used
to create text documents like letters and mailing lists. Similarly, an image processing software
package assists a user in drawing and manipulating graphics.

FEATURES OF SOFTWARE

1. Ease of use
The software systems and applications are becoming more and more easy to use. In fact,
software developers and system analysts go to great lengths to ensure that the products they
develop are user-friendlier than their competitor’s products.
2. Graphical user interface (GUI)
GUI or graphical user interface has now become the default standard for most of the
software applications. Gone are the days of the crude character based interfaces of UNIX and
DOS application. Today’s software applications and products provide the users with perceptive,
graphical and easy-to-use interfaces. Now the users do not have to remember the cryptic system
commands or shortcut keys that were a must in the character based era. Now almost any task can
be accomplished by a mouse click.
3. Multi-platform capability
Today’s software applications are not developed for just one platform. Most of the
software applications supports multiple platforms-both hardware and software platforms. There
are software applications that support hardware platforms ranging from mainframes to PCs and
different software platforms like MVS, Solaris, AIX, UNIX, Windows and so on. For example
IBM’s DB2 Universal database is available for a variety or hardware and software platforms.
 Another important feature of today’s software application is that they support multiple languages
and multiple currencies. Many vendors are providing their applications in many languages like
English, Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese and so on.
4. Compatibility with other software
Now the competition for each market segment in the software marketplace is rather
fierce. We have many software vendors battling for the market share in the same segment. For
example, Microsoft Word 2000 supports all previous versions of Work like Word 97, Word 6,
Word and so on. The two features –compatibility with earlier versions and compatibility with
other products make it easier for the users, as they can choose the application they want and still
use the old files they have created using other applications or using older versions of the same
application.
5. Mail enabling
Mail enabled applications are designed to take advantage of on e-mail. These are the
familiar word processors, spreadsheets, and other individual desktop applications that have email
features built to them. There is another class of message-centered programs that are built
specifically around e-mail functions.
6. Web enabling
With the ever-increasing popularity of internet and the amount of information that is
available on the net, most software applications are now web-enabled. Web enabling helps the
user in many different ways. Its use starts while the user is installing the application. During
installation, most of the applications will automatically connect to the Internet and to the
vendor’s web site and will register their products (earlier one had to fill in a paper form and mail
or fax it to the vendor).

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HARDWARE & SOFTWARE

 HARDWARE

1.It is the physical unit of the computer
2. It has permanent structure and cannot be altered
3. It is normally affected by agent like dust, heat, humidity, etc
4. Hardware understands only machine language ,lower level language or binary
5. It works with binary code, the presenceor absence of Pulses as 1’s or 0’s.

SOFTWARE

1.It is a collection of programs to bring the hardware system into operation
2. It has no permanent structure but can be altered and reused
3. It is not affected by these agents to some extent
4. It is written by a well versed programmer and generally in higher level language which is readable by human being
5. It is represented by the Higher Level Languages such as BASIC, COBOL,
Etc.