Layers of a Computer

There are three levels to computing, each building on the previous to achieve the general-purpose operating systems that we have learned through using a computer. By building a system consisting of physical hardware parts and integrated firmware, we create a digital software space for performing tasks through applications. These systems are built to existing architectures, standards, protocols and specifications that allow them to be used interchangeably within compatible hardware and software environments.

Hardware

This is the physical side of the computer made out of circuit boards and silica. This includes the motherboard, central processing unit, ram, storage drives, graphics card, sound card, network card and the case it is built into. Hardware is called "hard" because it is relatively rigid and is difficult to change substantially once the hardware has been created.

Firmware

Firmware is a special form of low-level software that enables the hardware to interact with higher level software, such as your operating system. Computers use a firmware type known as BIOS (Basic Input Output System) or EFI (extensible firmware interface). These interfaces offer end-user with hardware-level configuration settings, like which hard drive to boot into or which components to disable. This basic software can run a rudimentary POST (Power on Self Test) to verify your hardware is working and hand control over to the operating system.

Firmware differs from software because it is stored on a small chip on your motherboard called Read Only Memory. This chip is powered by a small coin cell battery that allows it to store settings even when powered off. This chip can only be written to through a special process known as flashing.

Software

when talking about software, we are generally referring to operating systems and applications that are installed onto your storage device. an operating system creates a user environment that provide tools for applications to perform more specific tasks.