Introduction to Computer

A computer system has three main components: hardware, software,

and people. The equipment associated with a computer system is
called hardware. Software is a set of instructions that tells the
hardware what to do. People, however, are the most important
component of a computer system - people use the power of the
computer for some purpose. In fact, this course will show you that the
computer can be a tool for just about anyone from a business person,
to an artist, to a housekeeper, to a student - an incredibly powerful and
flexible tool.

Software is actually a computer program. To be more specific, a

program is a set of step-by-step instructions that directs the computer
to do the tasks you want it to do and to produce the results you want.
A computer programmer is a person who writes programs. Most of us
do not write programs, we use programs written by someone else.
This means we are users - people who purchase and use computer
software.

Input devices
In computing, an input device is a piece of computer
hardware equipment used to provide data and control signals to
an information processing system such as a computer or information
appliance. Examples of input devices
include keyboards, mouse, scanners, digital cameras, joysticks,
and microphones.

Mouse
Pointing devices are the most commonly used input devices today.
A pointing device is any human interface device that allows a user to
input spatial data to a computer.

Keyboard
'Keyboards' are a human interface device which is represented as a
layout of buttons. Each button, or key, can be used to either input a
linguistic character to a computer, or to call upon a particular function
of the computer.
Output Devices
An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment which
converts information into human-readable form.

Monitor
A display device is the most common form of output device. It
presents output visually on computer screen. The output appears
temporarily on the screen and can easily altered or erased, it is
sometimes referred to as soft copy also. The display device for a
desktop PC is called Monitor.

Printer
A computer printer is a piece of hardware for a computer. It allows
a user to print items on paper, such as letters and pictures. Mostly a
printer prints under the control of a computer. Many can also work as
a copying machine or with a digital camera to print directly without
using a computer.