A computer system consists of hardware (physical components) and software (programs). This topic covers input/output devices, the CPU, memory types, storage devices, and the difference between system software and application software.
Input devices: keyboard, mouse, scanner, microphone, webcam. Output devices: monitor, printer, speaker, headphones. CPU (Central Processing Unit): the "brain" — contains ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) for calculations and CU (Control Unit) for coordination. Memory: RAM (temporary, volatile), ROM (permanent, non-volatile). Storage: HDD, SSD, pen drive, CD/DVD.
System software: manages hardware — Operating System (Windows, macOS, Linux), utility programs (antivirus, disk cleanup). Application software: performs specific tasks — MS Word, Excel, web browsers, games. Programming languages: used to create software (Scratch, Python).
Hardware is the physical, tangible parts of a computer that you can see and touch (keyboard, monitor, CPU). Software is the set of programs/instructions that tell the hardware what to do — you cannot touch software. Hardware without software is useless, and software needs hardware to run. Together they form a complete computer system.
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