Computing

·         An input provides data for further processing

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Consists of data/commands entered into computer system, usually through an input device e.g. a mouse or keyboard

-          The input data is converted into digital data that the computer can deal with

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Processing- where the data is manipulated to produce meaningful information e.g. searching sales data to find which products in a supermarket have sold the most or sorting a list of customer into alphabetical order

·         Output- where the obtained information is presented to the user in a suitable format

-          Usually involves turning digital data into a physical form e.g. pictures or sounds

-          Examples: a printout of exam results, a digital display at the petrol pump, an alarm on a fire system that sounds when smoke is detected

·         Hardware= parts of the computer you can physically touch

-          External hardware: monitor, printer, keyboard, mouse, microphone

-          Internal hardware: hard disk, CPU, fan, motherboard, sound card

·         Software= applications & programming instructions that tell the computer what to do

-          System software: controls the way the computer works & tells it what to do e.g. operating system & user interface

-          Application software: used to do your work, play games & music etc. e.g. word processors, spread sheets, databases, game applications