mention the different elements of computer.
A computer system is a set of six elements viz.:
(i) Hardware,
(ii) Software,
(iii) People,
(iv) Procedures,
(v) Data and
(vi) Connectivity.
(i) Hardware:The physical components of a computer constitute its Hardware. These include keyboard, mouse, monitor and processor. Hardware consists of input devices and output devices that make a complete computer system.
Examples of input devices are keyboard, optical scanner, mouse and joystick which are used to feed data into the computer. Output devices such as monitor and printer are media to get the output from the computer.
(ii) Software:A set of programs that form an interface between the hardware and the user of a computer system are referred to as Software.
They are of six types:
(a) System software:
A set of programs to control the internal operations such as reading data from input devices, giving results to output devices and ensuring proper functioning of components is called system software.
(b) Application software:
Programs designed by the user to perform a specific function, such as accounting software, payroll software etc.
(c) Operating system:
A set of tools and programs to manage the overall working of a computer using a defined set of hardware components is called an operating system. It is the interface between the user and the computer system.
(d) Utility software:
Certain special purpose programs that are designed to perform a specialized task, such as functions to copy, cut or paste files in a computer, formatting a disk etc.
(e) Language processors:
Special software to accept data and interpret it in the form of Machine /Assembly language understandable by a computer. It also ensures the correctness of language syntax and errors.
(f) Connectivity software:
A set of programs and instructions to connect the computer with the main server to enable sharing of resources and information with the server and other connected computers.
(iii) People:The most important element of a computer system is its users. They are also called live-ware of the computer system.
The following types of people interact with a computer system:
(a) System Analysts:
People who design the operation and processing of the system.
(b) System Programmers:
People who write codes and programs to implement the working of the system
(c) System Operators:
People who operate the system and use it for different purposes. Also called the end users.
(iv) Procedures:Procedure is a step by step series of instructions to perform a specific function and achieve desired output.
In a computer system, there are three types of procedures:
(a) Hardware oriented procedure:
It defines the working of a hardware component.
(b) Software oriented procedure:
It is a set of detailed instructions for using the software.
(c) Internal procedure:
It maintains the overall internal working of each part of a computer system by directing the flow of information.
(v) Data:The facts and figures that are fed into a computer for further processing are called data. Data is raw until the computer system interprets it using machine language, stores it in memory, classifies it for processing and produces results in conformance with the instructions given to it. Processed and useful data is called information which is used for decision making.
(vi) Connectivity:When two or more computers are connected to each other, they can share information and resources such as sharing of files (data/music etc.), sharing of printer, sharing of facilities like the internet etc. This sharing is possible using wires, cables, satellite, infra-red, Bluetooth, microwave transmission etc.