Computer systems definitions
Introduction
A computer is made up of hardware and software that work together to make up a complete computer system. This computer system can then process instructions and data.
Hardware, software and peripherals
Hardware is anything that is physical, that you can touch, such as a keyboard, a web cam, a stick of RAM, a CPU chip or a pen drive. Software are the programs (or sets of instructions) that make the hardware do useful things. Examples of software include your favourite music program, a word processing program, your operating system and a web browser. Another piece of jargon that pops up from time to time is 'peripheral'. A peripheral is simply any piece of hardware that you can connect to the CPU. Normally, you would do this by plugging it into somewhere on the outside of your computer system which then links to the CPU inside the system. you can do this by using a USB port, for example, or by making a connection wirelessly, for example, by using Bluetooth.
Overview of a computer system
A CPU takes data from the world (or from a special storage place called Random Access Memory, or RAM for short), using a range of input devices such as a keyboard or mouse, processes it and then it either outputs it to world using a range of output devices such as a set of speakers, a monitor or printer, or stores it using a range of storage media. The CPU processes data according to sets of instructions, or programs, which are held in Random Access Memory, or RAM. The CPU cannot directly work with any programs or data held on a storage medium such as a hard drive or pen drive. If it wants to use them, it first has to move them into RAM.
Communication
In addition, a computer system may have hardware that allows it to communicate with other computer systems to form networks of computers. It can use these networks to send and receive data between different computers across the globe very quickly.