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The Relationship Between Hardware and Software

Author: Sophia
PDF Version

what's covered
Information systems can be incredibly complex, depending on their size and scope. In spite of varying levels of complexity, information systems consist of six components: hardware, software, data, people, processes, and communication. The first three components fit under the category of technology, and place the computer square at the center of modern information systems. In this lesson, we will take a look at the core relationship between hardware and software.

Specifically, this lesson will cover:

Table of Contents

1. Overview of Hardware and Software

Recall that information systems contain both hardware and software. Hardware is the part of an information system you can touch — the physical components of the technology. Computers, keyboards, disk drives, iPads, and flash drives are all examples of information systems hardware.

Software is the set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do. When programmers create software programs, what they are really doing is simply typing out lists of instructions that tell the hardware what to do. Software can come in many forms, including the operating system and application software. There are many types of application software as well. For example, word processing or spreadsheet applications are productivity software, and antivirus programs installed on a computer are an example of utility software.

terms to know
Hardware
The part of the information system that you can touch; the physical components of the technology.
Software
The set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do.

2. Relationship Between Hardware and Software

Computer software controls computer hardware. These two components are complementary and dependent on one another. In order for a computer to effectively manipulate data and produce useful output, its hardware and software must work together. Computer software gets loaded into the computer’s hardware and then executed. There are several categories of software, with the two main categories being operating-system (or system) software, which makes the hardware usable, and application software, which does something specifically useful. Examples of operating systems include Microsoft Windows on a personal computer and Google’s Android on a mobile phone. Examples of application software are Microsoft Excel or Angry Birds, a gaming app by Rovio Entertainment.

watch
See how a smartphone's hardware, system software, and application software work together to perform useful and specific tasks.

think about it
Hardware and application software must work seamlessly together for the best user experience. Have you ever had a situation where your computer or device (hardware) seemed mismatched to the application that you were using? Maybe you were on a mobile phone where the screen was too small to legibly display a set of detailed graphics. Think of other examples from your past. How important is it that hardware and software are fully compatible and integrated?

summary
This lesson offered you an overview of hardware and software. Information systems such as geographic information systems, search engines, and data warehouses rely on hardware and software working in concert to correctly manipulate and handle data. Computer software drives computer hardware by providing the instructions that tell the hardware what to do. Hardware will not function without software, and software will not run without the appropriate hardware, making this relationship between them crucial to all information systems.

Source: Derived from Chapters 2 and 3 of “Information Systems for Business and Beyond” by David T. Bourgeois. Some sections removed for brevity. www.saylor.org/site/textbooks/Information%20Systems%20for%20Business%20and%20Beyond/Textbook.html

Terms to Know
Hardware

The part of the information system that you can touch; the physical components of the technology.

Software

The set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do.

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