HARDWARE vs SOFTWARE vs FIRMWARE COMPARISON

Table of Contents

1. Hardware vs software tabular form
2.Hard types
3.Software types
4.Software vs Firmware
5.Software vs App

HARDWARE	SOFTWARE
1. PHYSICAL PART OF A COMPUTER IS CALLED HARDWARE.	1. A SET OF INSTRUCTION GIVEN TO COMPUTER CALLED SOFTWARE.
2. WE CAN TOUCH, FEEL & SEE HARDWARE.	2. WE CANNOT TOUCH, FEEL OR SEE A SOFTWARE.
3. HARDWARE IS OPERATED BY SOFTWARE	3. THE OPERATION OF A COMPUTER CONTROLLED BY SOFTWARE
4. IT BREAKS, WEAR OUT & CAN BE REPLACED.	4. IT NEVER WEAR OUT BUT WHEN IT BECOME OLD IT CAN BE UPDATED IF THERE IS ANY UPDATE AVAILABLE FOR IT
5. THEORETICALLY, IT CAN NOT BE COPIED	5. IT CAN BE COPIED
6. IT CAN GET AFFECTED BY VIRUS INDIRECTLY	6. IT CAN GET AFFECTED BY VIRUS
7. IT CAN NOT BE TRANSFERRED THROUGH ELECTRONIC MEDIUM.	7. IT CAN BE EASILY TRANSFERRED THROUGH ELECTRONIC MEDIUMS
8. HARDWARE IS LIKE HUMAN BODY. (you can touch it, feel it & can see it)	8. SOFTWARE IS JUST LIKE HUMAN SOUL/MIND (You cannot touch, see or feel it. But it present inside your body)
9.EXAMPLE- mouse, monitor, motherboard, CPU, Keyboard, Hard disk, graphics card)	9. EXAMPLE- Apps, software like google chrome, safari, media player, Microsoft excel, notepad etc)
10. IT IS PHYSICAL IN NATURE	10. IT IS LOGICAL IN NATURE

INPUT DEVICES – keyboard, image scanner, microphone, pointing device, graphics tablet, joystick, light pen, mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, trackball, webcam
OUTPUT DEVICES – monitor, printer, speakers
REMOVABLE DATA STORAGE - optical disc drive, floppy disk, memory card, USB flash drive.
COMPUTER CASE- CPU, hard disk, motherboard, network interface controller, power supply, RAM, sound card, video card.
DATA PORTS- Ethernet, parallel port, serial port, USB.

APPLICATION SOFTWARE– word processors, video games &other entertainment programs.
SYSTEM SOFTWARE – These directly operate your computer hardware. It provides users with basic functionality. Example- operating systems, device drivers, and utilities.
MALICIOUS SOFTWARE – Also known as malware, it is software that’s developed to damage or harm computer systems making it difficult for home users and business users.EXAMPLE- Ransomware, Wannacry etc.

SOFTWARE	FIRMWARE (Known as EMBEDDED SOFTWARE)
1. MOST OF THE SOFTWARES ARE BIGGER IN SIZE	1. FIRMWARE CAN BE SMALLER OR BIGGER IN SIZE
2. SOFTWARE CAN BE ACCESSED BY USERS	2. FIRMWARE IS RESTRICTED BY MANUFACTURER. The ONLY MANUFACTURER CAN ACCESS IT.
3. SOFTWARES ARE UPDATED REGULARLY.	3. FIRMWARES ARE NOT MEANT TO BE UPDATED. (You can update if manufacturers want)
4. SOFTWARE IS STORED IN USER ACCESSIBLE MEMORY	4. FIRMWARE IS PLACED SEMI-PERMANENTLY IN THE HARDWARE. (in ROM or flash memory)
5. SOFTWARE IS EASIER TO RUN ON A DEVICE	5. FIRMWARE IS CRITICAL TO RUN ON A DEVICE THAT IS WHY IT IS PLACED IN USER INACCESSIBLE PLACES.
EXAMPLE:- Microsoft Excel, notepad, VLC player, Games etc.	EXAMPLE:- BIOS system of a computer, remote controlling devices. OS like Android, iOS, windows all is firmware.

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