Computer system is a collection of entities (hardware, software, user and data) that are designed to receive, process, manage and present information in a meaningful format.
Computers come in variety of different sizes. No matter how large or small a computer system is has following four parts:
1) Hardware 2) Software 3) Data 4) User
1. Hardware
- The mechanical devices that make up the computer are called hardware.
- Hardware is any part of the computer you can touch.
- These devices are required for input, output, storage and processing of the data.
- Keyboard, monitor, hard disk drive, floppy disk drive, printer, processor and motherboard are some of the hardware devices.
2. Software
- Software is a set of instructions that tells the computer about the tasks to be performed and how these tasks are to be performed.
- A set of programs and documents are collectively called software.
- The hardware of the computer system cannot perform any task on its own. The hardware needs to be instructed about the task to be performed. Software instructs the computer about the task to be performed. The hardware carries out these tasks.
3. Data
- Data is a collection of raw facts and figures.
- Computer’s primary job is to convert data into useful information.
- Stored using the binary number system.
- Data can be organized into files.
4. User
- Users are people who write computer programs or interact with the computer.
- Roles depends on ability
ü Setup the system
ü Install software
ü Manage file
ü Maintain the system
