Appendix A: Hardware And software Flashcards
Hardware
Consists of the physical devices associated with a computer system
Software
The set of instructions that the hardware executes to carry out specific tasks
Computer
An electronic device operating under the control of instructions stored in its own memory that can accept, manipulate, and store data
Central processing unit (CPU or microprocessor)
The actual hardware that interprets and executes the program, (software) instructions and coordinates how all the other hardware devices work together
Control unit
Interprets software instructions and literally tells the other hardware device what to do, based on the software instructions
Arithmetic logic unit
Performs all arithmetic operations and all logic operations
What determines the speed of a CPU
number of CPU cycles per second
Megahertz
The number of millimeters of CPU cycles per second
Gigahertz
The number of billions of CPU cycles per second
Primary storage
The computers main memory, which consists of the RAM, cache memory, and ROM that is all directly accessible to the CPU
Secondary storage
Consists of equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long term storage
Megabytes
1 million bytes
Gigabyte
1 billion bytes
Terabyte
1 trillion byte
Input device
Equipment used to capture info and commands
Manual: joystick, keyboard, microphone
Automated: bar code scanner, digital camera, magnetic ink character reader
Output device
Equipment used to see, hear, or otherwise accept the results of info processing requests
- cathode ray tube
- liquid crystal display
- laser printer
- ink jet printer
- plotter
Communication device
Equipment used to send information and receive it from one location to another
- dial up access
- cable
- digital subscriber line
- wireless
- satellite
Computer categories
PDA Laptop Tablet Desktop Work station Minicomputer Mainframe computer Supercomputer
System software
Controls how the various technology tools work together along with the application software
- operating system
- utility
- application
Types of utility software
Crash proof Disk image Disk optimization Encrypt data File and data recovery Text protect Preventative security Spyware Uninstaller
Types of application software
Browser Communication Data management Desktop publishing Email Groupware Presentation graphics Programming Spreadsheet Word processing
Information technology (IT)
Any computer based tool that people use to work with info and support the info and info-processing needs of an organization
