Electronic hardware consists of interconnected
electronic components which perform
analog or
logic operations on received and locally stored information to produce as output or store resulting new information or to provide control for output actuator mechanisms.
Electronic hardware can range from individual
chips
''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The se ...
/
circuits to distributed
information processing systems. Well designed electronic hardware is composed of hierarchies of functional modules which inter-communicate via precisely defined interfaces.
Hardware logic is primarily a differentiation of the data processing circuitry from other more generalized circuitry. For example nearly all computers include a
power supply which consists of circuitry not involved in data processing but rather powering the data processing circuits. Similarly, a computer may output information to a
computer monitor
A computer monitor is an output device that displays information in pictorial or textual form. A discrete monitor comprises a visual display, support electronics, power supply, housing, electrical connectors, and external user controls.
The d ...
or
audio amplifier
An audio power amplifier (or power amp) is an electronic amplifier that amplifies low-power electronic audio signals, such as the signal from a radio receiver or an electric guitar pickup, to a level that is high enough for driving loudspe ...
which is also not involved in the computational processes.
See also
*
Digital electronics
References
Electronic engineering
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