10.2 Sociotechnical systems
In a computer system, the software and the hardware are interdependent. Without hardware, a software system is an abstraction, which is simply a representation of some human knowledge and ideas. Without software, hardware is a set of inert electronic devices. However, if you put them together to form a system, you create a machine that can carry out complex computations and deliver the results of these computations to its environment.
This illustrates one of the fundamental characteristics of a system—it is more than the sum of its parts. Systems have properties that become apparent only when their components are integrated and operate together. Software systems are not isolated systems but are part of more extensive ...
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