The essence of software and its implication was once a cultural literacy possessed by computer professionals. With the advancement of software status, it is now a cultural literacy that has an important impact on society as a whole. Therefore, it is necessary to fully understand the characteristics of the software.
First, software is a logical product, which is essentially different from hardware products.
Hardware is a physical component or device that is visible and tangible. In the development of hardware products, people’s creative activities are reflected in the conversion of raw materials into tangible physical products.
Software products exist in the form of programs and documents, and they are embodied by running on a computer. In the process of developing software products, people’s production activities are expressed in a solution model that creatively abstracts the problem, and then writes the program according to the solution model. Finally, after debugging and running the program, the result of solving the problem is obtained. The entire production and development process is completed in an intangible way, and its visibility is extremely poor, which brings great difficulties to the management of software development and production processes.
Second, the way the quality of software products is reflected is different from the hardware products.
Different ways of expressing quality are manifested in two aspects. After the hardware product design is finalized, it can be mass-produced, and the product quality can be guaranteed through the quality inspection system. However, once the production and processing process is wrong. Hardware products may be scrapped due to quality issues. Software products cannot be produced in the traditional sense of manufacturing. As far as software development technology is concerned, software production is still “customized” and can only be designed or implemented for specific problems. But once the software loves you, once the product is realized, its production process is only copied, and the quality of the software produced by the copy is the same. Even if there is a quality problem in the designed software, the product will not be scrapped. By modifying and testing, the software that has been “discarded” can be “repaired” and put into normal operation. It can be seen that the quality assurance mechanism of the software has more flexibility than the hardware.
Third, the cost structure of software products is different from hardware products
The tangible substances in the cost structure of hardware products account for a considerable proportion. As far as the life cycle of hardware products is concerned, the design and production links account for the majority of the cost structure, while after-sales service only accounts for a small part.
Software production relies mainly on mental work. Human resources account for a considerable proportion of the cost structure of software products. The production cost of software products is mainly developed and developed. After successful development, the production of the product is simple, and mass production can be achieved by copying.
Fourth, the failure curve of software products is different from hardware products.
Hardware products have aging and depreciation problems. When a hardware component wears out, you can replace it with a new one. The hardware will eventually be eliminated due to the wear and tear of the main components.
For software, there are no depreciation and wear problems, and they can be used forever if needed. However, the elimination of software failures is much more complicated than the elimination of hardware failures. Software failures are mainly caused by errors in software design or coding, and must be redesigned and coded to solve the problem.
Software has a high failure rate in the initial stages of its development, mainly due to unrealistic or design errors in demand analysis. When the error in the development process is corrected, the failure rate drops to a certain level and remains relatively stable until the software is discarded. When the software makes major changes, it will also lead to a sharp rise in the failure rate.
5. Most software is still customized.
Once the hardware products are designed and finalized, their production technology, processing technology and process management will be determined, which will facilitate the standardization and serialization of hardware products. Since hardware products have a standard framework and interface, users can integrate, assemble and replace them regardless of the manufacturer’s products.
Although software product reuse is a tireless pursuit of the software industry, several leading software companies have established some technical standards for software component reuse in some local areas. For example, OMG’s CORBA, mICROSOFT’s COM, Sun’s J2EE, etc., but there is currently no widespread use of software alternatives. Most software is still customized for a specific task or user.
The difference between computer hardware and software:
1. Common software, browser, chat tool, graphic tool, video software, etc.
2. Common hardware, common software includes CPU, memory, motherboard, drive various expansion cards, mouse, keyboard, display, speaker connection and so on.
The difference between computer hardware and software:
Fourth: the purpose and classification of the software:
The software can be divided into two parts according to the way, one part is the system software, and the other part is the application type software. The system software is mainly used to command and manage the operation of various components inside the computer. Application software is generally a specific program written to accomplish one or several tasks.
The difference between computer hardware and software:
Fifth: the use of hardware
Computer hardware is used to maintain the daily operation of the computer, and the various components are combined into one whole to support the normal operation of the computer software.
6
Sixth: the link between software and hardware
If the software is the brain, then the hardware is the body, and the body is used to maintain the normal operation of the brain every day. Therefore, the hardware of the computer directly affects the entire computer. Of course, only a strong body without a flexible brain, then the best hardware is a pile of waste. Therefore, computer software and hardware are mutual help and complement each other. Only when they are united together is a powerful whole.