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 |
2. HARDWARE TYPES
- 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.
3. SOFTWARE TYPES
- 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.
4. SOFTWARE vs FIRMWARE
| 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. |
5. SOFTWARE VS APP
- The software is much bigger as compared to the app
- softwares are is used to create an app
- Example of software - ANDROID STUDIO
- Example of an app- UC BROWSER
