What is hardware

What is hardware?

A computer system consists of two parts: the software and the hardware. The software is the information in the form of data and program instructions. The hardware components are the electronic and electromechanical parts of the system. The basic structure of the computer system is made up of three hardware parts: (a) the central processing unit or CPU, (b) the memory unit, (c) the input unit ,and the out put unit.

Perhaps the most influential component is the central processing unit. The CPU is a microprocessor chip which executes program instructions and coordinates the activities of all the other components.

In a way, it is the “brain” of the computer. The main memory of a
computer holds the instructions and data which are processed by the
CPU. It is usually composed of two sections: RAM (random access
memory) and ROM (read only memory).
The peripherals are the physical units attached to the computer.
They include input/output devices as well as storage devices. Input
devices, like the keyboard and the mouse, enable us to present
information to the computer.
Output devices allow us to extract the results from the computer;
for example, we can see the output on the monitor or in printed
form by the printer. Secondary storage devices such as floppy,
hard, and optical disks are used to store information permanently; for
example, we use CDs and DVDs to store large amounts of information.