Peripheral (computing)

In computing, peripherals is the generic name for the auxiliary and independent apparatus or device connected to the motherboard of a computer.

Peripherals are considered to be the units or hardware devices through which the computer communicates with the outside world, as well as the systems that store or archive information, serving as auxiliary memory for the main memory.

Peripheral devices are considered to be those that do not belong to the fundamental core of the computer, made up of the central processing unit (CPU) and the main memory, which allow for input/output (I/O) operations complementary to data processing. that the CPU does. These three basic units in a computer are: CPU, central memory and the I/O subsystem, they are communicated with each other by three buses or communication channels:

• Directions, to select the address of the data or the peripheral to which you want to access.
• Control, basically to select the operation to perform on the data (mainly reading, writing or modification).
• Data, where data circulates.

Classification of peripherals

Although the term peripherals often implies the concept of "additional but not essential", many of them are fundamental elements of a computer system. The monitor is practically the only peripheral that people consider essential in any personal computer (it was not in the first computers) but despite this, technically it is not. The mouse or mouse is possibly the clearest example of this aspect. In the early 1990s, not all personal computers included this device. The MS-DOS operating system, the most common at that time, had a command line interface for which it was not necessary to use a mouse, everything was done through text commands. It was with the popularization of Finder, Apple's Macintosh operating system, and the subsequent appearance of Windows that the mouse began to be an essential element in any home equipped with a personal computer. Currently there are operating systems with a text interface that can do without the mouse, such as MS-Dos. The case of the keyboard is also emblematic, since in the new tablet computers, game systems or mobile phones with touch screens, the keyboard is emulated on the screen. Even in cases of special adaptations, keyboards are no longer the most used input peripheral, even disappearing in some cases due to the use of voice recognition programs.

Peripherals can be classified into the following main categories:

• Entry peripherals: they capture and digitize the data if necessary, introduced by the user or by another device and send them to the computer to be processed.
• Output peripherals: are devices that show or project information to the outside of the computer. The majority are to inform, alert, communicate, project or give the user some information, in the same way they are responsible for converting electrical impulses into readable information for the user. However, not all of this type of peripherals is information for the user. An example: Printer.
• Input/output peripherals (E/S): serve for communication of the computer with the external medium.
• Storage peripherals: are the devices that store data and information. The random access memory cannot be considered a storage peripheral, as its memory is volatile and temporary. Examples: Hard Drive, Flash Memory, Magnetic Ribbon, Portable Memory, Disk, Recorder or Reader: CD; DVD; Blu-ray; HD-DVD.
• Communication peripherals: allow interaction between two or more devices.

Input peripherals

Mouse or mouse computer.

They are the ones that allow external data to be entered into the computer for later processing by the CPU. This data can come from different sources, the main one being a human being. The most common input peripherals are:

• Keyboard (keyboard)
• Rat (mouse)
• Touch paneltouchpad)
• Scanner (scanner)
• Bar code scanner
• QR Code Scanner (QR Code Scanner)quick response code, Quick Response Code)
• Digital fingerprint sensor
• Web camera (webcam)
• Digital camera
• Microphone
• Joystick

Keyboard

A computer keyboard is a peripheral device, physical or virtual (for example, on-screen keyboards or touch keyboards), used to enter commands and data into a computer. It originates from teletypes and electric typewriters, which were used as the keyboards of early computers and storage devices (paper tape recorders and punched cards). Although physically there are a myriad of ways, they are usually classified mainly by the keyboard layout of their alphanumeric zone, since except in very special cases it is common to all devices and manufacturers. There are several types of keyboard.

Mouse. Touchpad

The mouse (pronounced [ˈmaʊs]) or mouse is a handheld input peripheral for a computer, used for data input or control. It is used with one of the two hands of the user and detects its relative movement in two dimensions by the horizontal surface on which it rests, usually reflected through a pointer or arrow on the monitor. Previously, the displacement information was transmitted thanks to the movement of a ball under the mouse, which activated two rollers that corresponded to the X and Y axes. Today, the pointer reacts to movements due to a ray of light that is reflected between the mouse and the surface it is on. It should be noted that an optical mouse resting on a mirror or on a varnish, for example, is unusable, since the laser light does not perform its correct function. The surface to rest the mouse must be opaque, a surface that does not generate a reflection, the use of mats is recommended.

The mouse is the most widely used type of pointing or pointing device; there are also: gamepad, stylus, joystick (joystick), Touchpad, Trackball, steering wheel for video games, etc.

Microphone

With the microphone, in addition to recording any audio or sound through a computer application, it also allows the use of speech recognition or voice recognition systems, available even in web browsers to search for information, both on laptops or desktop computers as well as mobile devices.

Scanner

In computing, a scanner (from English: scanner) is a peripheral device that is used to convert, by using light, images or any other print to digital format. Currently they are unified with the printers forming multifunctions.

Digital camera

• Digital camera
  • Camera
  • Videocamara
  • Web camera (webcam)

Output peripherals

The output peripherals receive the information processed by the CPU and reproduce it, so that it is perceptible by the user.

Visuals

• Computer monitor
• Printer
• Led
• Viewer
• Video projector

Hearing

• Speaker
• Headphones
• Sound card

Táctiles

• Printer braille
• 3D Printer

Monitor

The "computer monitor" or "computer screen" It is the output device that through an interface shows the results or graphics of a computer's processing. There are several types of monitors:

1. of tube of cathodic rays (CRT),
2. of plasma screen (PDP),
3. liquid crystal display (LCD),
4. of organic light emission diode panels (OLED),
5. Laser-TV, among others.

Printer

A printer is a computer peripheral that makes it possible to produce a permanent copy of text or graphics from documents stored in electronic format, printing the data on glossy media on glossy paper. physical, usually on paper or transparencies, using ink cartridges or laser technology. Many printers are used as peripherals, and are permanently attached to the computer by a cable. Other printers, called network printers, have an internal network interface (typically wireless or Ethernet), and can serve as a device to print a document on paper for any network user. Multifunctional printers are currently on the market, which apart from their printer functions work simultaneously as a photocopier and scanner, this type of printer being the most common on the market. It should be noted that multifunctional printers do not belong to output peripherals only, but are considered as input/output peripherals.

• Impact printer
  • Matricial printer
  • Margarita Printer
  • Line printer
• Sublimation printer
• Injection printer
• Thermal printer
• Laser printer

Speaker or speaker. Headphones

The speakers are used to listen to the sounds emitted by the computer, such as music, error sounds, conferences, etc.

• The base plates usually carry a loudspeaker that emits beeps to indicate possible errors or processes, or to indicate actions for people with visual disabilities, such as activation of Bloq Num or Bloq Mayus.

Input/output peripherals

Input/output peripherals are what the computer uses to send and receive information. Its function is to store or save, permanently or virtually, everything we do with the computer so that it can be used by users or other systems.

Touch or multi-touch screen

Touch screen

It is a screen that by means of a direct touch on its surface allows the entry of data and orders to the device, and in turn shows the results entered previously; acting as a data input and output peripheral, as well as an emulator of erroneous interim data by not being effectively touched. This contact can also be made by means of a light pen or other similar tools. Currently there are touch screens that can be installed on a normal screen, of any type or name (LCD, CRT monitors and televisions, plasma, etc.).

Multi-touch

It is the name by which a human-computer interaction technique and the hardware that applies it are known. Multi-touch technology consists of a touch screen or touchpad that simultaneously recognizes multiple points of contact, as well as the software associated with it that makes it possible to interpret said simultaneous interactions.

Multifunction printer

Multifunctional printer.

A multifunction printer or multifunctional device is a peripheral that connects to the computer and that has the following functions within a single physical block: Printer, scanner, photocopier, enlarging or reducing the original, fax (optionally). Memory reader for direct printing of photos from digital cameras. Sometimes, even though the fax is not built in, the MFP is able to control it if it is connected to a USB port. Also, they may have a hard drive (the largest drives used in offices) to store documents and images.

Virtual helmet

Storage peripherals

Inside a hard drive.

Storage devices and media store data used by the CPU after it has been removed from main memory, because memory is cleared every time the computer is turned off. They can be internal or portable, like a hard drive, or removable, like a CD or DVD.

• Drilled card
• Drill tape
• Magnetic tape
• Magnetic disk
  • Dispenser
  • Hard drive
    • Fixed or internal hard drive
    • Portable or external hard drive
• Optical disk (DO)
  • Compact disk (CD or Compact Disc)
  • Disco Versátil Digital (DVD)
  • Blu-ray Disc (BD or Blu-ray Disc)
• Magnetic-optical disk
  • Disco Zip (Iomega): 100 MB, magnetic technology
  • 3.5" SuperDisk disk: 128 MB to 640 MB, magneto-optic technology
    • LS-120
    • LS-240
  • Disco Jaz (Iomega): capacity from 1 GB to 2 GB
• Flash Memory
  • USB memory
  • Memory cards
  • Solid state unit

Secondary memory

Secondary memory (auxiliary, peripheral or external) or secondary storage, is the set of devices and data storage media that make up the memory subsystem of the computer system, together with the primary or main memory.

Hard drive

The hard drive is a digital magnetic recording system, it is where in most cases the computer's operating system resides. User data is stored on hard drives. In it we find inside the casing a series of stacked metal plates rotating at high speed. The heads responsible for reading or writing the magnetic impulses are located on these plates.

Solid State

A solid-state drive is a non-volatile memory system. They are made up of several NAND Flash memory chips inside attached to a controller that manages all the data that is transferred. They have a great tendency to definitely succeed mechanical hard drives due to their great speed and tenacity. Not being formed by discs in any of their ways, they cannot be categorized as such, although they erroneously tend to do so.

Network Storage

• Cloud storage
• File hosting service
  • Dropbox
  • Google Drive
  • OneDrive
• Direct connection storage (Direct Attached StorageDAS
• Networked storage (net)Network Attached Storage, NAS)
• Storage area network (Storage Area Network, SAN)

Communication peripherals

Its function is to allow or facilitate interaction between two or more computers. Among them are the following:

Network cards

Network interface cards or cards (Network Interface Card, NIC) can be integrated into the motherboard or connected via expansion slots.

Modems

Hubs

Network switches (switches)

Routers (routers)

Wireless communication

Bluetooth

Infrared

Wi-Fi