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Difference between Hardware and Software | Hardware vs. Software

Difference between Hardware and Software | Hardware vs. Software

Hardware vs. Software

Difference between hardware and software: – Any computer system, especially if we refer to computers; can be divided into two main parts: hardware and software. All components of computer systems necessarily fall into one of these categories.

Difference between hardware and software

What do you see when the computer is off and what would you call what you see on the monitor when it is turned on? If you want to know the difference between hardware and software, then keep reading.

Hardware
Hardware is generally defined as the physical aspect of a computer. It’s what we can play. It includes all the palpable components of a computer. As for example, the monitor, the CPU, keyboard, mouse. Without the hardware would not exist the computer and the software would not have how to run.

Computer hardware is changed less frequently than software; since although it wears over time, its usefulness usually extends more than that of the latter; which, in a short time, can be outdated. There are several types of hardware, including input devices; which are used to enter data into the computer. The output devices, which receive the data from the computer and those who store data, which allow connectivity with other devices…

Types of hardware

  • Input devices: keyboard, scanner, microphone, joystick, stylus, mouse, webcam …
  • Output devices: monitor, printer, speakers …
  • Removable data storage: optical disk drive ((CD-RW, DVD + RW), floppy disk (ohh, nostalgia), memory card, USB flash drive.
  • Computer case: CPU, random access memory (RAM), video card, sound card …
  • Data ports: firewire ethernet, parallel port, serial port.

Software
Software, on the other hand, is any program that is loaded on a computer; such as the operating system, server, web browser, media player … It is the code and instructions that tell the hardware how to operate. This code can be viewed and executed using the hardware.

The software allows the computer to perform specific tasks. Apart from the operating system, there are many types of software that give additional functions to the computer.

Contrary to hardware; it does not wear out over time, but it does become obsolete; because it is constantly updated. For this reason, we previously explained that hardware is changed with less frequent compared to software. The latter is usually modified, updated or deleted from the computer in a short period of time.

The software is categorized into three types: system software, programming software and application software. The system is software designed to operate and provide basic functionality to the hardware, so that it provides a platform for running applications.

The programming software includes programs or applications. Developers use it to create, debug, maintain or help other programs and applications. The application software is developed to perform any task that benefits the computation. It is a set of programs that allow the computer to perform a specific job of data processing for the user.

Types of Software

  • System software : device drivers, servers, utilities …
  • Programming software: compilers, debuggers, interpreters, linkers, text editors.
  • Application software: office automation, databases, multimedia players, web browsers.

The Key difference between hardware and software is Hardware is the physical part of the computer or computer system, while software is the logical aspect. Second key difference is software is changed or modified more frequently than hardware.

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