Hardware

This chapter will discuss the physical parts of computers – known as hardware.

Hardware is the first level of abstraction on a computer, where the complex processes involved in manipulating electricity are hidden beneath layers of simple interfaces. For example, when typing on a keyboard, users do not worry about representing the ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) code for the letter electrically or manually arranging the circuit for it – the keyboard abstracts (hides) that process.

Learning Outcomes

Identify general features in networking, hardware and operating systems

Chapter Learning Outcomes

1. Convert between binary, decimal, and hexadecimal.
2. Understand the role of the CPU and GPU.
3. Explain the difference between ROM and RAM.
4. Identify the shapes and uses of various computer I/O ports.
5. Understand the use and components of the system bus.