Computer Network : Difference between Hardware, Software and Firmware

 Agenda

1. Difference between Hardware, Software, and Firmware 

What is Hardware 

• It is a physical component of the system/it's the physical part of the computer

• It can be touched by us.

Examples- 

• Keyboard, mouse, cabinet, monitor, printer 

What is Firmware 

• It is a kind of software that is associated with your hardware.

• It is installed at the time of manufacturing of hardware such as keyboards, hard drives, BIOS, graphic cards, and printers.

• It performs the basic functions of any hardware.

• You can update.

Firmware is the foundation of the software stack that computer hardware uses for basic operations and to run applications.

Types of Firmware:

1. Low-level firmware 
2. High-level firmware 
3. Subsystem firmware 

Examples in detail

• If the user is pressing any of the keys on the keyboard, then the system will know what to display or what to perform right!!

• On your keyboard there is a start button/power button, now when you press the start button/power button then how system identified that it's time to reboot /restart/shutdown?

• In your washing machine, When you go to wash the clothes then you set a time 5minute by the timer button (that is hardware) now think, how at the preset time timer started to notify you by alarming, how the system identified that after 5 min I have to give the alarm.

well, these all basic functions happened because of firmware that is associated with your hardware.

What is Software 

• A collection of instructions that tells the computer how to perform a particular task.

• It is generally stored in user-accessible memory. 

• Software is changed constantly.

• Software can be very big while the firmware is very small.

It can be of three types :

1. System software
2. Utility software 
3. Application software