We explain what hardware is, what its characteristics are and how it is classified. We also provide some examples and the stages of its evolution.
Hardware encompasses the physical and tangible aspects of a computer.
What is the hardware?
In computing, hardware hard, “rigid”, and ware“tool”) is the set of material and tangible elements of a computer or computer systemThis includes its electrical, mechanical and electronic components, that is, everything that is distinct from the programs and digital elements that form part of the software.
Therefore, they are part of a computer’s hardware:
- Its electronic circuits and components, including cables, connectors and silicon cards.
- Your memory and processing devices, such as microchips, RAM modules, or hard drives.
- Your fixed peripherals, such as the monitor, keyboard or touchpad; as well as removable ones, such as joysticks, webcams or scanners.
- Its frame and structural components.
The terms “hardware” and “software” are English words that are used without translation, since there is no equivalent in Spanish. The distinction between them is similar to that between body and soul in certain branches of philosophy: on the one hand, the physical and perishable aspects, and, on the other, the intangible and logical aspects.
Hardware Features
In general terms, the hardware has the following characteristics:
- It consists of a set of tangible material elements, electrical, mechanical or electronic.
- It covers the Central Processing Unit (CPU) devices, peripherals and connectors between the different parts of the system, as well as its structural elements.
- It can have very different presentations and fulfill different purposes, from extracting or entering information into the system, to processing and storing it.
- It is distinguished from software, that is, from the digital and intangible aspects of the computer system.
Types of hardware
The physical components of a computer system can be classified according to two criteria: according to their hierarchy within the system and according to their function within the system.
According to their hierarchy within the system
Depending on their hierarchy within the system, we can differentiate between:
- Main hardwareThese are the physical components that are essential for the functioning of the system, that is, for its basic operation. For example: microprocessors, power sources and RAM memory modules.
- Complementary hardware. These are those physical components intended to fulfill specific functions that can only be carried out if the main hardware is functioning correctly. For example: the mouse, the webcam and the speakers.
According to its function within the system
Depending on the function it performs within the system, we can distinguish between:
- Processing hardwareThese are the elements that constitute the heart of the system or CPU, since its capacity to perform logical operations depends on them. For example: microprocessors and audio and video cards.
- Storage hardware. These are the elements responsible for storing and retrieving system information, whether on internal media of the machine or on removable and portable media. For example: hard drives, CDs and pen drives.
- Input peripherals. These are devices that allow information to be entered into the system, whether they are integrated into the machine or removable. For example: keyboards, microphones and cameras.
- Output peripherals. These are devices that allow information to be extracted or recovered from the system, whether they are integrated into the machine or removable. For example: printers, monitors, speakers and headphones.
- Input and output peripheralsThese are devices capable of performing tasks of input and output of information from the system, either in turns or simultaneously. For example: touch monitors, multifunction printers or virtual reality viewers.
Hardware examples
Hardware covers both peripherals and CPU components.
Some examples of hardware are:
- The monitors
- The keyboards
- Audio and video cards
- Microprocessors
- RAM memory modules
- Microphones and speakers
- webcams
- Touch screens
- The headphones
- Faxes and modems
- network cards
- Electrical circuits
- Batteries and power sources
- hard drives
- The pendrives
- Power cables
- Touchpads and mouses
- Motherboards
Hardware evolution
The great changes in the history of computing have also been changes in hardware.
Throughout the history of computing, the great leaps forward in information processing capacity and in the design of computer systems They are organized into four stages or “generations”. Each of them is determined by a significant change in hardware.
These four generations of computer hardware are:
- First generation (1945-1956)The first computing machines that can be effectively called “computers” emerged from the abandonment of relays in favour of vacuum tubes or valves. This is how the first computer systems appeared, such as ENIAC or UNIVAC.
- Second generation (1957-1963)This second generation arose from the replacement of vacuum tubes by transistors, a new technology that considerably reduced the size of the machines and at the same time significantly increased their computing capacity. This generation was led by IBM machines.
- Third generation (1964-1970). The third stage in the history of computers occurred thanks to the discovery of integrated circuits, printed on silicon chips and known as “chips”. This was an important step in the miniaturization of computer systems, allowing for greater performance with less electrical consumption. In this generation, the IBM S/360 and the PDP-8 and PDP-11 minicomputers stood out.
- Fourth generation (1971-1982)In this fourth generation, the revolutionary elements were the microprocessors, thanks to which the first personal computers (PC) were produced, which set the general trend of the industry until today. The first microprocessor in history was the Intel 4004, developed in 1971.
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References
- Dembowski, K. (2003). The big book of hardware (Trans. Virginia Pérez Moreno, José Luis Cortés and Nuria González). Marcombo.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2024). Hardware. Computing. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
- National University of the South. (sf). Introduction to the operation of personal computers. https://cs.uns.edu.ar/