Hardware refers to the tangible components of a computer — such as monitors, keyboards, and internal parts like microchips and hard drives. Software, on the other hand, includes the instructions and programs that direct hardware in its operations. Examples of software include computer applications and mobile apps.
Computer science 101: Hardware vs software components
6 mins read
May 29, 2024
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Hardware and software are essential parts of a computer system. Hardware components are the physical parts of a computer, like the central processing unit (CPU), mouse, storage, and more. Software components are the set of instructions that we store and run on our hardware. Together, they form a computer.
If you are new to computer science, it’s important to understand hardware and software components. This is the foundation of any computer science journey.
Today, we will be diving into hardware and software and teach you how they relate to a computer’s memory, CPU, and more.
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Hardware vs. Software#
Software describes a collection of programs and procedures that perform tasks on a computer. Software is an ordered sequence of instructions that change the state of a computer’s hardware.There are three general types of software:
- System software
- Programming software
- Application software
When you think of computer science, software is probably what comes to mind. Software is what developers actually code. Those programs are then installed onto a hard drive.
Hardware is anything physically connected to a computer. For example, your display monitor, printer, mouse, and hard drive are all hardware components.
Hardware and software interact with each other. The software “tells” the hardware which tasks to perform, and hardware makes it possible to actually perform them.
Note: Most computers require at least a hard drive, display, keyboard, memory, motherboard, processor, power supply, and video card to function.
| Hardware | Software |
|---|---|
| Physical devices that store and run software | Collection of coded instructions that all us to interact with a computer |
| Works as the delivery system | Performs specific tasks |
| Monitor, printer, scanners , label makers, routers and hard drive | Adobe, Google Chrome, Microsoft Excel, Spotify |
| Hardware begins functioning when software is loaded. | Software must be installed on hardware |
| Hardware will wear down over time | Software will not wear down, but it is vulnerable to bugs / becoming outdated |
Hardware components#
Now that we understand the difference between hardware and software, let’s learn about the hardware components of a computer system. Remember: hardware includes the physical parts of a computer that the software instructs.
CPU#
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is a physical object that processes information on a computer. It takes data from the main memory, processes it, and returns the modified data into the main memory. It is comprised of two sub-units:
- The control unit (CU): controls data flow from and into the main memory
- The arithmetic and logic unit (ALU): processes the data
Von Neumann architecture#
This computer architecture design, created by John von Neumann in 1945, is still used in most computers produced today. The Von Neumann architecture is based on the concept of a stored-program computer. Instruction and program data are stored in the same memory.
This architecture includes the following components:
- Control Unit
- Inputs/Outputs
- Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)
- Memory Unit
- Registers
The Von Neumann Architecture.
Input and output units#
The input unit takes inputs from the real world or an input device and converts that data into streams of bytes. Common input devices include a keyboard, mouse, microphone, camera, and USB.
The output unit, on the other hand, takes the processed data from the storage of CPU and represents it in a way a human can understand. Common output devices include a monitor screens, printers, and headphones.
Storage Units#
After the data is retrieved and converted, it must be stored in the memory. The storage unit or memory is the physical memory space. It is divided into byte-sized storage locations.
Storage Unit example
A storage contains millions of bytes of memory to store anything we want on our computer. To store a bit of data in computer memory, we use a circuit, called a latch, that stores the previous input unless it’s reset. We can create a circuit using a:
- S-R latch
- Gated S-R latch
- D latch
Memory#
There are components to a computer’s hardware memory. Main memory or random access memory (RAM) is the physical memory space inside a computer. It stores data and instructions that can directly be accessed by the CPU. Computers usually have a limited amount of main memory to store all your data.
That is when secondary storage comes into use. Secondary storage augments the main memory and holds data and programs that are not needed immediately.
Secondary storage devices include hard drives, compact discs (CD), USB flash drives, etc. Secondary storage devices cannot be directly accessed by the CPU.
Learn to code today.#
Try one of our courses on programming fundamentals:
Software components#
Now let’s discuss the different software components that we need to have a functioning computer. Remember: software comprises the set of programs, procedures, and routines associated needed to operate a computer.
Machine language#
A computer can only process binary: a stream of ones and zeros. Binary is the computer’s language. Instructions for the computer are also stored as ones and zeros that the computer must decode and execute.
Assembly language#
Assembly language is a human-readable instruction mode that translates binary opcode into assembly instruction. A CPU cannot process or execute assembly instructions, so an encoder is required that can convert assembly language to machine language.
Assembler#
An assembler translates an assembly language program into machine language. The code snippet below is an assembly program that prints “Hello, world!” on the screen for the X86 processor.
section .data
text db 'Hello, world!'
section .text
global _start
_start:
mov rax, 1
mov rdi, 1
mov rsi, text
mov rdx, 14
syscall
mov rax, 60
mov rdi, 0
syscall
High-level languages#
Assembly language is referred to as a low-level language because it’s a lot like machine language. To overcome these shortcomings, high-level languages were created.
These are called programming languages, and they allow us to create powerful, complex, human-readable programs without large numbers of low-level instructions. Some of the most famous high-level languages are:
Python
print "Hello World"
How do you design software?#
Software design is the process of transforming particular requirements into a suitable program using code and a high-level language. We need to properly design a program and system that meets our goals.
Developers use software design to think through all the parts of their code and system. Software design includes three levels:
- Architectural Design: an abstract version of the program or system that outlines how components interact with each other.
- High-level Design: this part breaks the design into sub-systems and modules. High-level design focuses on how the system should be implemented.
- Detailed Design: this part deals with the implementation. This is here we define the logical structure of each module.
What to learn next#
Congrats! You should now have a solid idea of hardware, software, and the components of a computer. These are essential to your foundation as a computer scientist. For your next step on this journey, you should learn about:
- Binary conversions
- Data representation
- Data compression
- Basic syntax of programming language
Now that you know these basics, you can advance to start learning your first programming language with one of our courses:
Happy learning!
Continue reading about computer science and System Design#
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the hardware and software components of a computer?
What are the hardware and software components of a computer?
What are 5 examples of hardware and software?
What are 5 examples of hardware and software?
Written By:
Amanda Fawcett
