Introduction to Computer System

Overview

In this tutorial, we will learn about a basic computer system and its components. Computers are common devices and can be found anywhere in real-life. For example, Home PCs and Laptops, Office Workstations, Servers, etc.

Computer System

A computer system is a machine that operates under the control of instructions stored in the memory. In basic terms, a computer system is a device that can accept input, store, retrieve, process the data, and produces output information.

There are different functions of the computer system. The basic function of a computer is to process the input data and produce meaningful information for the end-user.

Computer Components

The two major computer components are as follows:

Hardware
Software

A computer system consists of both components.

Computer Systems Diagram

Hardware

Computer Hardware is the physical component of the computer. Hardware components can be many. A computer is a complex device containing many sub-systems. Each sub-system is a piece of computer hardware or part of another hardware device.

Some of the examples of computer hardware are as follows:

Input Devices
Output Devices
CPU( Central Processing Unit)
Storage Devices(Primary & Auxiliary )

Computer System and Components

The computer hardware devices shown in the picture are as follows:

1 -> Computer Monitor
2 -> System Unit
3 -> Keyboard
4 -> Mouse
5 -> Printer
6 -> Speaker
7 -> Modem

Let’s take an example of the System unit. The system unit consists of several internal components like:

CPU
Motherboard
Power Supply
BUS
Clock
Network Card

Software

Software refers to program instructions written in a computer language that allows the hardware components to perform the intended function. Computer software can be broadly divided into:

System Software
Application Software
Programming Languages

Computer System Use-cases

An operating system is a program that manages all the computer hardware. It acts as an interactive interface to the end user and interprets the commands so that it can communicate with the hardware.

Examples of System Software are Operating Systems like Windows, UNIX/Linux OS, macOS, Solaris, etc.

Application software programs are installed on top of the operating system.
These programs can be proprietary licensed software or open-source free software.

Examples of Application software like Microsoft Office, Google Chrome Browser software, etc