Appendix A - Hardware and software basics. This appendix covers the basics of computer hardware and software including terminology, characteristics, and the associated managerial responsibilities for building a solid enterprise architecture. | APPENDIX A HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. 1 Overview HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS Hardware Basics Computer Categories Software Basics 2 INTRODUCTION Information technology (IT) - Any computer-based tool that people use to work with information and support the information and information-processing needs of an organization Hardware - Consists of the physical devices associated with a computer system Software - The set of instructions that the hardware executes to carry out specific tasks 3 HARDWARE BASICS Computer - An electronic device operating under the control of instructions stored in its own memory that can accept, manipulate, and store data Hardware components include: Central processing unit (CPU) Primary storage Secondary storage Input device Output device Communication device 4 HARDWARE BASICS 5 HARDWARE BASICS 6 HARDWARE BASICS 7 HARDWARE BASICS 8 Central Processing Unit Central processing unit (CPU) (or microprocessor) - The actual hardware that interprets and executes the program (software) instructions and coordinates how all the other hardware devices work together Control unit - Interprets software instructions and literally tells the other hardware devices what to do, based on the software instructions Arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) - Performs all arithmetic operations (for example, addition and subtraction) and all logic operations (such as sorting and comparing numbers) 9 Central Processing Unit The number of CPU cycles per second determines the speed of a CPU Megahertz (MHz) - The number of millions of CPU cycles per second Gigahertz (GHz) - The number of billions of CPU cycles per second 10 Central Processing Unit CPU speed factors Clock speed Word length Bus width Chip line width Binary digit (bit) - The smallest unit of information that a computer can process Byte - A group of eight bits . | APPENDIX A HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. 1 Overview HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS Hardware Basics Computer Categories Software Basics 2 INTRODUCTION Information technology (IT) - Any computer-based tool that people use to work with information and support the information and information-processing needs of an organization Hardware - Consists of the physical devices associated with a computer system Software - The set of instructions that the hardware executes to carry out specific tasks 3 HARDWARE BASICS Computer - An electronic device operating under the control of instructions stored in its own memory that can accept, manipulate, and store data Hardware components include: Central processing unit (CPU) Primary storage Secondary storage Input device Output device Communication device 4 HARDWARE BASICS 5 HARDWARE BASICS 6 HARDWARE .
