ASSIGNMENT

Computer
Computer is an electronic device that is designed to work with Information.The term computer is derived from the Latin term computare, this means tocalculate.Computer can not do anything without a Program.it represents the decimal numbers through a string of binary digits. The Word 'Computer'usually refers to the Center Processor Unit plus Internal memory. A computer is an electronic device that manipulates information, or "data." It has the ability to store, retrieve, and process data. You can use a computer to type documents, send email, and browse the internet. You can also use it to handle spreadsheets, accounting, database management, presentations, games, and more.

Components of a Computer System

Computers are made of the following basic components: Case with hardware inside: o Power Supply - The power supply comes with the case, but this component is mentioned separately since there are various types of power supplies. The one you should get depends on the requirements of your system. This will be discussed in more detail later o Motherboard - This is where the core components of your computer reside which are listed below. Also the support cards for video, sound, networking and more are mounted into this board. Microprocessor - This is the brain of your computer. It performs commands and instructions and controls the operation of the computer. Memory - The RAM in your system is mounted on the motherboard. This is memory that must be powered on to retain its contents. Drive controllers - The drive controllers control the interface of your system to your hard drives. The controllers let your hard drives work by controlling their operation. On most systems, they are included on the motherboard, however you may add additional controllers for faster or other types of drives.

o Hard disk drive(s) - This is where your files are permanently stored on your computer. Also, normally, your operating system is installed here. o CD-ROM drive(s) - This is normally a read only drive where files are permanently stored. There are now read/write CD-ROM drives that use special software to allow users to read from and write to these drives. o Floppy drive(s) - A floppy is a small disk storage device that today typically has about 1.4 Megabytes of memory capacity. o Other possible file storage devices include DVD devices, Tape backup devices, and some others. Monitor - This device which operates like a TV set lets the user see how the computer is responding to their commands. Keyboard - This is where the user enters text commands into the computer. Mouse - A point and click interface for entering commands which works well in graphical environments.

Computer Software Definition

Software is a generic term for organized collections of computer data and instructions, often broken into two major categories: system software that provides the basic non-task-specific functions of the computer, and application software which is used by users to accomplish specific tasks.

 System software is responsible for controlling, integrating, and managing the individual hardware components of a computer system so that other software and the users of the system see it as a functional unit without having to be concerned with the lowlevel details such as transferring data from memory to disk, or rendering text onto a display. Generally, system software consists of an operating system and some fundamental utilities such as disk formatters, file managers, display managers, text editors, user authentication (login) and management tools, and networking and device control software.

Computer Hardware Definition

Hardware is a comprehensive term for all of the physical parts of a computer, as distinguished from the data it contains or operates on, and the software that provides instructions for the hardware to acoomplish tasks. The boundary between hardware and software is slightly blurry - firmware is software that is "built-in" to the hardware, but such firmware is usually the province of computer programmers and computer engineers in any case and not an issue that computer users need to concern themselves with. A typical computer (Personal Computer, PC) contains in a desktop or tower case the following parts: Motherboard which holds the CPU, main memory and other parts, and has slots for expansion cards power supply - a case that holds a transformer, voltage control and fan storage controllers, of IDE, SCSI or other type, that control hard disk , floppy disk, CD-ROM and other drives; the controllers sit directly on the motherboard (on-board) or on expansion cards graphics controller that produces the output for the monitor the hard disk, floppy disk and other drives for mass storage interface controllers (parallel, serial, USB, Firewire) to connect the computer to external peripheral devices such as printers or scanners

Operating System
An operating system (OS) is a set of software that manages computer hardwareresources and provides common services for computer programs. The operating system is a vital component of the system software in a computer system. Application programs require an operating system to function. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also include accounting for cost allocation of processor time, mass storage, printing, and other resources.