Chapter 3

Computer
Hardware And
Software
Hardware vs. Software
 Hardware
• The physical equipment used to process
information
 Software
• Instructions that, with the help of people,
command the hardware to perform desired
tasks

Chapter 3 Slide 2
Computer Hardware Conceptual
Overview

Figure 3-1 Chapter 3 Slide 3

Computer Devices
 Processing hardware
• Controls the peripheral devices, as
directed by computer software
 Data bus
• Electrical connection managing the flow of
data between the processing hardware and
the rest of the computer

Chapter 3 Slide 4
Computer Devices
 Adaptors (controllers)
• Reside inside the computer and convert
commands and data from the data bus into
signals that peripheral devices can use
 Port
• A connection between the computer box
and a device outside the computer

Chapter 3 Slide 5
Computer Devices

 Input, output, and communications

devices
• Transfer data between a computer and its
users or other computers
 Storage devices
• Save data for later processing

Chapter 3 Slide 6
Uses of Input Hardware
 Active data entry
• A person uses an input device to enter
data into a computer
 Passive data entry
• The computer obtains information without
the active participation of a user
 Control
• A person uses an input device to control
the tasks or actions of the computer.

Chapter 3 Slide 7
Input Devices
 Keyboard
• Consists of a plastic or metal housing
containing keys that, when pressed, send a
signal to the computer
 Pointing devices
• Allow the user to control the movement of
a cursor (pointer) on the screen

Chapter 3 Slide 8
Input Devices
 Formatted Text Readers
• Read text formatted specifically for the
device in use
 Image Capture Devices
• Include scanners, digital still cameras, and
digital camcorders

Chapter 3 Slide 9
Input Devices
 Instrumentation devices
• Receive input through other devices, such
as machines and musical instruments, that
produce electrical output
 Sensors
• Devices that respond to the environment
with a signal that a computer can interpret

Chapter 3 Slide 10
Processing Hardware – The Execution
Cycle

Figure 3-5 Chapter 3 Slide 11

Measuring Processing Power

 Word length and bus width

 Speed of arithmetic
 Instruction speed
 Instruction set
 Pipelining

Chapter 3 Slide 12
Processing Hardware
 Parallel processing
• Uses two or more processors in a single
computer
 Specialized processors
• Processors, such as video accelerators,
voice processors, cryptographic
coprocessors, and DSPs, that perform
highly specialized tasks

Chapter 3 Slide 13
Processing Trends
 Moore’s Law
• A 1965 prediction by Gordon Moore, a co-
founder of Intel, that the amount of
information storable in a square inch of
silicon would double about every 18
months

Chapter 3 Slide 14
Types of Storage Hardware
 Primary storage
• Electrical, resides on the bus, and is
directly accessible to the processor
 Secondary storage
• Storage that the processor cannot access
directly

Chapter 3 Slide 15
Types of Storage Hardware

 Volatile storage
• Requires electrical power to retain its data
 Non-volatile storage
• Retains its data in the absence of electrical
power

Chapter 3 Slide 16
Primary Storage Devices
 Cache memory
• Expensive super-fast primary storage
 RAM (random access memory)
• Volatile primary storage
 ROM (read-only memory)
• Non-volatile primary storage

Chapter 3 Slide 17
Secondary Storage Devices

 Fixed media
• Hard disk
• RAID
 Removable media
• Includes diskettes, cartridge disks,
magnetic tape, optical media, and flash
memory

Chapter 3 Slide 18
Other Storage Technologies

 Distributed Storage
• Storage Area Networks (SANs)
 Volumetric Storage
• Holographic
• MFD

Chapter 3 Slide 19
Hardware for Data Output

 Softcopy
• Output on an unmovable medium, such as
a computer screen.
 Hardcopy
• Output on a medium, such as paper, that
can be removed from the computer.
 Robotic
• Output into devices that physically move in
response to signals from a computer.

Chapter 3 Slide 20
Types of Software - Overview

Figure 3-12 Chapter 3 Slide 21

Types of Software

 Vertical application software

• Performs tasks common to a specific
industry, or a function within an industry
 Horizontal application software
• Addresses tasks that are common to users
in all or almost all industries

Chapter 3 Slide 22
Types of Software

 Systems Software
• Performs tasks to manage the devices and
resources of a computer and its network
 Systems-development software
• Used to create new software

Chapter 3 Slide 23
Vertical Software Issues

 Make vs. Buy

• Custom
• Customized
• Packaged (COTS)
 Integration
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
• Middleware

Chapter 3 Slide 24
Horizontal Software Types

 Office Automation
 Business Function Application
• Examples: Sales force management,
Human resources management, Inventory
management, Bookkeeping

Chapter 3 Slide 25
Systems Software

 Operating System Kernel

 Systems Utilities
 Network and Systems Management
Software

Chapter 3 Slide 26
Systems Development Software – Language
Differences
 Language Translation Method
• Interpreted
• Compiled
 Level of Abstraction
 Procedural vs. Non-Procedural
 Command/Data Oriented vs. Object
Oriented

Chapter 3 Slide 27
A Layered View of Software

 Client/Server model
• Divides a software application into at least
two separate but interdependent parts
called the client and the server

Chapter 3 Slide 28
Client/Server Models

 Two-tiered model
• Client responsible for user interface
• Server responsible for data storage and
management
• Result: Clients often need lots software
and storage -- fat clients

Chapter 3 Slide 29
Client/Server Models

 Three-tiered model
• Client: User interface
• 1st Tier Server: Business logic
• 2nd Tier Server: Data handling
• Results in “thin clients”
 Multi-tiered models
• Divide application into many components,
each of which can call on the others to
perform services

Chapter 3 Slide 30
Peek Into The Future – Nanotechnology

 Nanotechnology
• Refers to building structures on a scale of
one-billionth of a meter, about five times
the diameter of a carbon atom
 Nanobots
• Nanometer-sized robots, able to perform
nano-assembly under the direction of a
computer; perhaps able to reproduce

Chapter 3 Slide 31
Peek Into The Future – Artificial Intelligence

 Rule-based systems
• One in which the computer makes
decisions based on logical rules
 Neural network
• Approach to artificial intelligence that
operates by mimicking the human brain

Chapter 3 Slide 32
Peek Into The Future – Artificial Intelligence

 Evolutionary algorithms
• Approach to artificial intelligence that
operates by observing the success or
failure of millions of different sets of rules
and approaches to solving a problem

Chapter 3 Slide 33
 End of
Chapter 3

Computer
Hardware And
Software