BASIC COMPUTER LITERACY Minto Literacy Council CASP Facilitator: Joan Perry 327-3713 COURSE OVERVIEW: This course is intended to introduce the student to computer capabilities and computer terminology. It is geared towards those who have no previous computer knowledge or related work exposure. The contents of this course follow the. RESTRICTED 6 RESTRICTED CHAPTER TWO BASIC COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER SYSTEM THE COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER A computer contains many electric, electronic and mechanical components known as hardware. These components include input devices, output devices, a system unit, storage devices, and communications devices.
Hardware represents the physical and tangible components of a computer, i.e. the components that can be seen and touched.
Examples of Hardware are the following −
Input devices − keyboard, mouse, etc.
Output devices − printer, monitor, etc.
Secondary storage devices − Hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.
Internal components − CPU, motherboard, RAM, etc.
Hardware and software are mutually dependent on each other. Both of them must work together to make a computer produce a useful output.
Software cannot be utilized without supporting hardware.
Hardware without a set of programs to operate upon cannot be utilized and is useless.
To get a particular job done on the computer, relevant software should be loaded into the hardware.
Hardware is a one-time expense.
Software development is very expensive and is a continuing expense.
Different software applications can be loaded on a hardware to run different jobs.
A software acts as an interface between the user and the hardware.
If the hardware is the 'heart' of a computer system, then the software is its 'soul'. Both are complementary to each other.