A peripheral or peripheral device is an auxiliary device used to put information into and get information out of the computer.[1]The term peripheral device refers to all hardware components that are attached to a computer and are controlled by the computer system, but they are not the core components of the computer like CPU, mother board, and power supply etc. Peripherals, in other words can also be defined as the devices which can be easily removed and plugged into a computer system.
Several categories of peripheral devices may be identified, based on their relationship with the computer:
- An input device sends data or instructions to the computer, such as a mouse, keyboard, graphics tablet, image scanner, barcode reader, game controller, light pen, light gun, microphone, digital camera, webcam, dance pad, and read-only memory;
- An output device provides output from the computer, such as a computer monitor, projector, printer, headphones and computer speaker;
- An input/output device performs both input and output functions, such as a computer data storage device (including a disk drive, USB flash drive, memory card and tape drive), network adapter and multi-function printer.
Many modern electronic devices, such as Internet-enabled digital watches, keyboards, and tablet computers, have interfaces for use as computer peripheral devices.
Types of peripheral devices
peripheral devices can be classified into three categories:
Input devices
Keyboard- It is the one of the most important input devices used to input data and instructions into a computer.
Mouse- Mouse is the most commonly used input and pointing device that lets user select and move items on the screen. The left button is used more frequently than the right button.
Stylus- It is also called as touch pen
See also
- Controller (computing)
- Display device
- Expansion card
- Punched card input/output
- Punched tape
- Video game accessory
References
- ^ Laplante, Philip A. (2000). Dictionary of Computer Science, Engineering and Technology. CRC Press. p. 366. ISBN 0-8493-2691-5. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2018.