Hardware

 Hardware

Hardware represents the physical and tangible components of a computer i.e. the components that can be seen and touched. Examples of Hardware are following:  Input devices -- keyboard, mouse etc.  Output devices -- printer, monitor etc.  Secondary storage devices -- Hard disk, CD, DVD etc.  Internal components -- CPU, motherboard, RAM etc.

Relationship between Hardware and Software

 Hardware and software are mutually dependent on each other. Both of them must work together to make a computer produce a useful output.  Software cannot be utilized without supporting hardware.  Hardware without set of programs to operate upon cannot be utilized and is useless.  To get a particular job done on the computer, relevant software should be loaded into the hardware  Hardware is a one-time expense.  Software development is very expensive and is a continuing expense.  Different software applications can be loaded on a hardware to run different jobs.  A software acts as an interface between the user and the hardware.  If hardware is the 'heart' of a computer system, then software is its 'soul'. Both are complimentary to each other.