A computer consists of hardware and software. Hardware is the computer’s physical components which include:

- Central processing unit (CPU) that processes data and programs.

- Memory (the primary storage device) that stores data and programs on their way to be processed by the CPU.

- Input devices that provide data and programs to the computer such as keyboards and mice.

- Output devices that accept output from the computer such as monitors and printers.

- Secondary storage devices that store data and programs for future use such as hard-disk drives, floppy-diskette drives, and compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM) drives.