Hardware
Hardware refers to a computer’s physical components. The machinery and equipment of the device is often referred to. Examples of hardware on a computer are the keyboard, monitor, mouse and the processing unit. However, much of the computer’s hardware cannot be seen, in other words, it is not an external computer feature, but rather an internal part, enclosed by housing of the computer. The hardware of a computer is composed of several different components, but the motherboard perhaps the most important of these. The motherboard consists of many more components that monitor and power the machine.
Hardware, unlike software is a physical object, while on the other hand software is a non-physical entity. Hardware and software are interconnected; the hardware of a computer will have no purpose without the software. However, software would be of no good use without the development of hardware for performing software-directed tasks through the central processing unit box.
Software
All the electronic instructions that communicate with the hardware on how to execute a task are composed of software, generally knows as programs. These instructions come from a software developer who has authorised them in the context of the operating system they are based on. A software built for the Windows operating system, for instance, would only operate for that specific operating system. Software compatibility can vary, as the software architecture and the operating system differ. When running on Windows 2000 or NT, software that is optimized for windows XP can encounter compatibility problems.
A collection of routines, rules and symbolic languages that direct the functioning of the hardware can also be defined as software.
In Comparison to hardware that performs only mechanical tasks for which they are mechanically built, software can perform specific tasks. Computer systems are divided into three main groups by realistic computer systems.
Device Software: Helps run hardware for computers and operating systems. Operating systems, application drivers, debugging tools and more are part of computer software.
Software for programming: Software that lets a programmer write computer programs. Software for applications: Helps users to perform one or more tasks.
In a wider context, the word ‘software’ is often used to describe any electronic media material that that embodies concepts such as video, tapes, documents, etc. The electronic instruction that tells the machine to do a task is software.