1. Introduction

Computers are all around us in our daily lives. From desktop PCs to supermarket checkout systems to traffic control systems, it would be difficult to walk around town without spotting at least one computer system.

Computers have two parts to them: the physical device itself (called "hardware"), and the programs that control the device (called "software").

In this section, we will discuss examples of hardware and software that you might come across when dealing with computers.