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HARDWARE AND
SOFTWARE BASICS
Technical architecture refers to the structured process of designing and building
software architecture, with focus on interaction with software and hardware
developers. Technical architecture is a part of software architecture, which focuses
on how to deal with certain aspects of the software engineering process. It allows
us to design better systems by:
Meeting system requirements and objectives: Both functional and
non-functional requirements can be prioritized as "must have", "should have" or
"want", where "must have" identi#es properties that the system must have in
order to be acceptable. An architecture allows us to evaluate and make
tradeo&s among requirements of di&ering priority. Though system qualities (also
known as non-functional requirements) can be compromised later in the
development process, many will not be met if not explicitly taken into account
at the architectural level.
Enabling +exible partitioning of the system: A good architecture enables +exible
distribution of the system by allowing the system and its constituent
applications to be partitioned among processors in many di&erent ways without
having to redesign the distributable component parts. This requires careful
attention to the distribution potential of components early in the architectural
design process.
Reducing cost of maintenance and evolution: Architecture can help minimize
the costs of maintaining and evolving a given system over its entire lifetime by
anticipating the main kinds of changes that will occur in the system, ensuring
that the system's overall design will facilitate such changes, and localizing as
far as possible the e&ects of such changes on design documents, code, and
other system work products. This can be achieved by the minimization and
control of subsystem interdependencies.
Increasing reuse and integration with legacy and third party software: An
architecture may be designed to enable and facilitate the (re)use of certain
existing components, frameworks, class libraries, legacy or third-party
applications, etc.
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS
Hardware Basics
Computer Categories
Software Basics
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS Page 1 of 6
A
APPENDIX
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Describe the six major categories of hardware and provide an example of each.
Hardware consists of the physical devices associated with a computer system. The six major
categories of hardware include:
Central processing unit (CPU) The actual hardware that interprets and executes the program
(software) instructions and coordinates how all the other hardware devices work together (e.g.,
Intel processor)
Primary storage The computer’s main memory, which consists of the random access memory
(RAM), cache memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly accessible to the
central processing unit (CPU) (e.g., RAM)
Secondary storage Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term storage
(e.g., diskette, hard drive, memory card, CD).
Input devices Equipment used to capture information and commands (e.g., keyboard,
scanner).
Output devices Equipment used to see, hear, or otherwise accept the results of information
processing requests (e.g., monitor, printer).
Communication devices Equipment used to send information and receive it from one location
to another (e.g., modem).
Personal digital assistant (PDA) - A small hand-held computer that performs simple tasks such
as taking notes, scheduling appointments, and maintaining an address book and a calendar.
Laptop - A fully functional computer designed to be carried around and run on battery power.
Laptops come equipped with all of the technology that a personal desktop computer has, yet
weigh as little as two pounds.
Tablet - A pen-based computer that provides the screen capabilities of a PDA with the
functional capabilities of a laptop or desktop computer. Similar to PDAs, tablet PCs use a
writing pen or stylus to write notes on the screen and touch the screen to perform functions
such as clicking on a link while visiting a website.
Desktop - Available with a horizontal system box (the box is where the CPU, RAM, and storage
devices are held) with a monitor on top, or a vertical system box (called a tower) usually placed
on the floor within a work area.
Workstation - Similar to a desktop but has more powerful mathematical and graphics
processing capabilities and can perform more complicated tasks in less time. Typically used for
software development, Web development, engineering, and ebusiness tools.
Minicomputer (midrange computer) - Designed to meet the computing needs of several people
simultaneously in a small to medium-size business environment. A common type of
minicomputer is a server and is used for managing internal company networks and websites.
Minicomputers are more powerful than desktop computers but also cost more, ranging in
price from $5,000 to several hundred thousand dollars.
Mainframe computer - Designed to meet the computing needs of hundreds of people in a large
business environment. Mainframe computers are a step up in size, power, capability, and cost
from minicomputers. Mainframes can cost in excess of $1 million. With processing speeds
greater than 1 trillion instructions per second (compared to a typical desktop that can process
about 2.5 billion instructions per second), mainframes can easily handle the processing
requests of hundreds of people simultaneously.
Supercomputer - The fastest, most powerful, and most expensive type of computer.
Organizations such as NASA that are heavily involved in research and number crunching
employ supercomputers because of the speed with which they can process information.
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS Page 2 of 6
Primary storage - The computer’s main memory, which consists of the random access memory
(RAM), cache memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly accessible to the
central processing unit (CPU).
Secondary storage - Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term storage
(e.g., diskette, hard drive, memory card, CD).
Input devices - Equipment used to capture information and commands (e.g., keyboard,
scanner)
Output devices - Equipment used to see, hear, or otherwise accept the results of information
processing requests (e.g., monitor, printer).
Primary storage - The computer’s main memory, which consists of the random access memory
(RAM), cache memory, and the read-only memory (ROM) that is directly accessible to the
central processing unit (CPU).
Secondary storage - Equipment designed to store large volumes of data for long-term storage
(e.g., diskette, hard drive, memory card, CD).
Communication devices - Equipment used to send information and receive it from one location
to another (e.g., modem).
2. Describe the eight categories of computers by size.
Personal digital assistant (PDA) – a small hand-held computer that performs simple tasks such
as taking notes, scheduling appointments, and maintaining an address book and a calendar.
Laptop computer – a fully functional computer designed to be carried around and run on
battery power.
Tablet computer - a pen-based computer that provides the screen capabilities of a PDA with
the functional capabilities of a notebook or desktop computer.
Desktop computer – the most popular choice for personal computing needs.
Workstation computer – Has more mathematical and graphics power than a desktop
Minicomputer (sometimes called a mid-range computer) – designed to meet the computing
needs of several people simultaneously in a small to medium-size business environment.
Mainframe computer (sometimes just called a mainframe) – a computer designed to meet the
computing needs of hundreds of people in a large business environment.
Supercomputer – the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive type of computer.
3. Identify the two main types of software.
Operating system software controls the application software and manages how the hardware
devices work together, whereas utility software provides additional functionality to the operating
system. Utility software includes antivirus software, screen savers, disk optimization software, and
anti-spam software
CLASSROOM EXERCISE
Web-Enabled Cell Phones and Web Computers
When categorizing computers by size for personal needs, the focus is typically on
PDAs, tablet computers, notebook computers, and desktop computers. There are
several other variations including smartphones (or Web-enabled cell phones) that
include instant text messaging and Web browsing capabilities. Split students into
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS Page 3 of 6
groups of four people and have them research smartphone capabilities and costs.
Have each group make a purchase recommendation based on their research. Ask
students what their vision of the future is for cell phone telephony. Will we ever get
rid of notebooks and clunky desktops in favor of more portable and cheaper
devices such as smartphones? Why or why not?
CLASSROOM OPENER
Top Ten Data Failure Stories
10. PhD Almost an F -- A PhD candidate lost his entire dissertation when a bad
power supply suddenly zapped his computer and damaged the USB Flash drive
that stored the document. Had the data not been recovered, the student would not
have graduated.
9. Su&ering from Art -- While rearranging her home o<ce, a woman accidentally
dropped a #ve pound piece of clay pottery on her laptop, directly onto the hard
drive area that contained a book she'd been working on for #ve years and 150
year-old genealogy pictures that had not yet been printed.
8. Domestic Dilemma -- A husband deleted all of his child's baby pictures when he
accidentally hit the wrong button on his computer. His wife hinted at divorce if he
did not get the pictures back.
7. Bite Worse than Bark -- A customer left his memory stick lying out and his dog
mistook it for a chew toy.
6. Don't Try this at Home -- A man attempting to recover data from his computer
on his own found the job too challenging mid-way through and ended up sending
Ontrack his completely disassembled drive -- with each of its parts in a separate
baggie.
5. Out of Time -- A clockmaker su&ered a system meltdown, losing the digital
designs for all of its clocks. Ontrack literally beat the clock recovering all their data
just in time for an important international tradeshow.
4. Drilling for Data -- During a multi-drive RAID recovery, engineers discovered one
drive belonging in the set was missing. The customer found the missing drive in a
dumpster, but in compliance with company policy for disposing of old drives, it had
a hole drilled through it.
3. Safe at Home -- After one of their executives experienced a laptop crash, the
Minnesota Twins professional baseball team called on Ontrack to rescue crucial
scouting information about their latest prospects. The team now relies on Ontrack
for all data recoveries within its scouting and coaching ranks.
2. Hardware Problems -- A frustrated writer attacked her computer with a hammer.
When the engineers received the computer, the hammer imprint was clearly visible
on the top cover.
1. La Cucaracha -- In hopes of rescuing valuable company information, a customer
pulled an old laptop out of a warehouse where it had been sitting unused for 10
years. When engineers opened the computer, it contained hundreds of husks of
dead and decaying cockroaches.
CLASSROOM EXERCISE
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS Page 4 of 6
Backup and Recovery
Ask your students to answer the following questions:
Do you have a backup strategy for your computer?
How often do you backup?
What do you backup?
What type of format do you use for your backup?
Where do you save the backup?
How long do you save the backup?
Now ask your students that if you stole their computer or spilled a hot cup of
co&ee on their computer right now how much information would they lose?
Encourage your students to create a backup strategy.
CORE MATERIAL
The core chapter material is covered in detail in the PowerPoint slides. Each slide
contains detailed teaching notes including exercises, class activities, questions,
and examples. Please review the PowerPoint slides for detailed notes on how to
teach and enhance the core chapter material.
APPLY YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Instructor Note: There are few right or wrong answers in the business world.
There are really only e<cient and ine<cient, and e&ective and ine&ective business
decisions. If there were always right answers businesses would never fail. These
questions were created to challenge your students to apply the materials they
have learned to real business situations. For this reason, the authors cannot
provide you with one version of a correct answer. When grading your students’
answers, be sure to focus on their justi#cation or support for their speci#c answers.
A good way to grade these questions is to compare your student’s answers against
each other.
1. A COMPUTER
Project Purpose: To understand the correlation between price and changes to
various technology components.
Potential Solution: Although there is no right or wrong answer here, students
responses should be pragmatic to their needs and budget.
2. WEB-ENABLED CELL PHONES
Project Purpose: To understand that we are (certainly) moving to smaller,
more portable, and more powerful computers.
Potential Solution: Although there is no right or wrong answer here, this
exercise should provoke some healthy debates about whether we will get rid of
notebooks and desktops in favor of “leaner and meaner” more portable
computers.
3. SMALL BUSINESS COMPUTERS
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS Page 5 of 6
Project Purpose: To understand the correlation between price and changes to
various technology components.
Potential Solution: Although there is no right or wrong answer here, students
responses should be pragmatic to their needs and budget.
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE BASICS Page 6 of 6
