Peripheral Devices

INPUT DEVICES
• Data and instructions are entered into a computer through input devices.
• An input device converts input data and instructions into suitable binary form which
can be accepted by the computer.

Keyboards
• Programs and data are entered into a computer through a keyboard which is attached
to a microcomputer or the terminal of a server or supercomputer.
• When a key is pressed an electronic signal is produced which is detected by an
electronic circuit called keyboard encoder.
• Computer uses standard keyboards having QWERTY type layout of characters, which
is commonly used in mechanical typewriters.
• For faster typing keys are rearranged to give a different layout known as Dvorak
Keyboard.

Light Pen
• A light pen is a pointing device. It is used to select a displayed menu option on the
CRT.
• It is a photosensitive pen like device. It is capable of sensing a position on the CRT
screen when its tip touches the screen.
• A light pen can also be used for graphics work. A user can draw directly on the CRT
screen with the light pen if the computer system is provided with CAD package.
• The user can select various colors and line thicknesses, can add or erase lines and can
enlarge or reduce the size of the drawings.
Mouse
• A mouse is a device to move the cursor on the CRT screen (video screen) of the
computer at faster rate conveniently.
• Besides moving the cursor of the screen, certain operations are also performed by
pressing buttons provided on the mouse.
• When the mouse is moved, its distance traveled and the direction is communicated to
the screen by a microcontroller which is embedded into the mouse.
• Cordless mouse is also available. Scroll mouse has a scrolling feature i.e. text on the
screen can be moved up or down moving a wheel which is on the mouse.
• A mouse may have three or four buttons for its operation. Modern mouse are optical
mouse.
• An optical mouse contains camera, light emitting diode (LED) and an embedded
digital processing unit.. The LED illuminates surface area.

Joystick
• It is also a pointing device. It is used to move the cursor position on a CRT screen. Its
function is similar to that of a mouse.
• The lower spherical ball moves in a socket. The joystick can be moved right or left,
forward or backward.
• Buttons mounted on the stick or elsewhere on the joystick, can be pressed to execute
commands. Joystick used in games.
• The computer cordless joysticks are also available.
Trackballs
• Trackball is also a pointing device and contains a ball which can rotate in any
direction.
• The user spins the ball in different to move the cursor on the CRT screen.
• The associated electronic circuitry detects the direction and speed of the spin.
• It is used on a laptop where there is no space for conventional mouse.

Scanner
• They convert printed text, graphics, pictures etc. to digital form.
• The main advantage of direct entry of information is that users do not have to key the
information. This provides faster and more accurate data entry.
• Important types of scanners are optical scanners and magnetic-ink character readers.
Touch Screen
• Some computers have touch screen which is sensitive to user’s touch. One can use
finger to point the command displayed on the screen.
• Capacitive screen uses a device which can sense changes in capacitance when and
where the user touches the screen with a stylus or finger.
• Infrared screens employ light-emitting diodes and photo detector cells to cover the
screen with invisible light. LEDs emit infrared light, and photo detectors receive it.
• Pressure-sensitive screens of Mylar, separated by a small space are used. Each sheet
of Mylar contains rows of invisible wires. The sheets are placed in such a way that the
wires run horizontally in one sheet and vertically in the other.
OUTPUT DEVICES
• The output devices receive information's from the computer and provide them to
users.
• The computer sends information's to the output devices in binary code forms.
• The output devices convert them into a form which can be used by users such as
printed form or display on a screen.

CRT Terminals
• A CRT terminal consists of a CRT display unit, a keyboard, CRT-refresh RAM, CRT
controller and USART or UART for communication with the computer.
• Each entered character is also displayed on the CRT screen, so that user can see what
he has typed.
• When data are keyed in, they are held in a small memory called a buffer, within the
terminal itself.
• The data are not transmitted to the computer until the user presses an enter key on the
keyboard.
• A small square pointer on the screen, called a cursor indicates the spot on the screen
where the next character to be keyed will be displayed.
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Monitor
• In LCDs a liquid crystalline material is sandwiched between two glass or plastic
plates. The front plate is transparent and the back plate is reflective. There is a coating
of thin film on the front plate.
• Commonly available LCDs are of two types: dynamic scattering type and field effect
type.

Printer
Printers are commonly used output devices. They provide printed output of results, programs
and data.
Printers which are used with computers are classified as follows:
(i) Character printers (One character at a time)
(ii) Line printers (One line at a time)
(iii) Page printers (One page at a time)
Printers also classified into the following two broad categories:
(i) Impact Printers
It use electromechanical mechanism that causes hammers or pins to strike against a ribbon
and paper to print the text.
(ii) Non Impact Printers
They use thermal, chemical, electrostatic, laser beam or inkjet technology for printing the
text.

Plotter
• Plotters are output devices. They are used to produce precise and good quality
graphics and drawings under computer’s control.
• They use ink pen or ink-jet to draw graphics or drawings. Either single color or
multicolor pens can be employed.
• Pen plotter are slow devices. A pen plotter can take from several seconds.

INPUT-OUTPUT INTERFACE
Input-output interface provides a method for transferring information between internal
storage and external I/O devices.
The purpose of the communication link is to resolve the differences that exist between the
central computer and each peripheral. The major differences are:
 1. Peripherals are electromechanical and electromagnetic devices and their manner of
operation is different from the operation of the CPU and memory.
2. The data transfer rate of peripherals is usually slower than the transfer rate of the
CPU.
3. Data codes and formats in peripherals differ from the word format in the CPU and
memory.
4. The operating modes of peripherals are different from each other and each must be
controlled so as not to disturb the operation of other peripherals connected to the
CPU.
To resolve these differences, computer systems include special hardware components
between the CPU and peripherals to supervise and synchronize all input and output transfers.
These components are called interface units.
The word “interface” is a general term for the point off contact between two parts of a
system.

Communication between Processor & Peripheral Devices

I/O Bus and Interface Modules
A typical communication link between the processor and several peripherals is shown in
following fig.

• The I/O bus from the processor is attached to all peripheral devices. To communicate
with a particular device, the processor places address on the address lines.
• When the interface detects its own address, it activates the path between the bus lines
and the device.
• All peripherals whose address does not correspond to the address on the bus are
disabled by their interface.
Types of Commands
There are four types of commands that an interface may receive.
1. Control command
2. Status command
3. Data output command
4. Data input command
1. Control Command
It is issued to activate the peripheral, e.g., a magnetic tape unit may be instructed to rewind
the tape.
2. Status Command
Tests various status conditions, e.g., the processor can check the status of the peripheral
before a transfer is initiated.
3. Data Output Command
• It causes the interface to respond by transferring data from the bus into one of the
registers.
• For example, the computer starts the tape moving by issuing a control command.
• The processor then monitors the status of the tape by means of status command.
• When the tape is in correct position, the processor issues a data output command.
• Then the interface communicates with the tape controller and sends the data to be
stored on tape.
4. Data Input Command
• It is opposite to the data output. The interface receives data from peripheral and places
it in its buffer register.
• The processor checks if data available by means of a status command and then issues
a data input command.
• The interface places the data on the data bus, where they are accepted by the
processor.