CC 101

LESSON ROPER

Peripheral
A peripheral is a “device that is used to put information into or get information out of the computer.
There are three different types of peripherals:
 Input, used to interact with, or send data to the computer (mouse, keyboards, etc.)
 Output, which provides output to the user from the computer (monitors, printers, etc.)
 Storage, which stores data processed by the computer (hard drives, flash drives, etc.)
Computer - Input Devices
Following are some of the important input devices which are used in a computer −
 Keyboard
 Mouse
 Joy
Stick
 Light
pen
 Track
Ball

 Scanner
 Graphic Tablet
 Microphone
 Magnetic Ink Card Reader(MICR)
 Optical Character Reader(OCR)
 Bar Code Reader
 Optical Mark Reader(OMR)
Keyboard
Keyboard is the most common and very popular input device which helps to input data to the computer. The
layout of the keyboard is like that of traditional typewriter, although there are some additional keys provided for
performing additional functions.
Keyboards are of two sizes 84 keys or 101/102 keys, but now keyboards with 104 keys or 108 keys are also
available for Windows and Internet.
The keys on the keyboard are as follows −
S.No Keys & Description

Typing Keys
1 These keys include the letter keys (A-Z) and digit keys (09) which generally give
the same layout as that of typewriters.

Numeric Keypad
2
It is used to enter the numeric data or cursor movement. Generally, it consists of a
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set of 17 keys that are laid out in the same configuration used by most adding
machines and calculators.

Function Keys
The twelve function keys are present on the keyboard which are arranged in a
3
row at the top of the keyboard. Each function key has a unique meaning and is
used for some specific purpose.

Control keys
These keys provide cursor and screen control. It includes four directional arrow
4
keys. Control keys also include Home, End, Insert, Delete, Page Up, Page Down,
Control(Ctrl), Alternate(Alt), Escape(Esc).

Special Purpose Keys

5 Keyboard also contains some special purpose keys such as Enter, Shift, Caps
Lock, Num Lock, Space bar, Tab, and Print Screen.

Mouse
Mouse is the most popular pointing device. It is a very famous cursor-control device having a small palm size
box with a round ball at its base, which senses the movement of the mouse and sends corresponding signals
to the CPU when the mouse buttons are pressed.
Generally, it has two buttons called the left and the right button and a wheel is present between the buttons. A
mouse can be used to control the position of the cursor on the screen, but it cannot be used to enter text into
the computer.
Advantages
 Easy to use
 Not very expensive
 Moves the cursor faster than the arrow keys of the keyboard.

Joystick
Joystick is also a pointing device, which is used to move the cursor position on a monitor screen. It is a stick
having a spherical ball at its both lower and upper ends. The lower spherical ball moves in a socket. The
joystick can be moved in all four directions.
The function of the joystick is similar to that of a mouse. It is mainly used in Computer Aided Designing (CAD)
and playing computer games.
Light Pen
Light pen is a pointing device similar to a pen. It is used to select a displayed menu item or draw pictures on
the monitor screen. It consists of a photocell and an optical system placed in a small tube.
When the tip of a light pen is moved over the monitor screen and the pen button is pressed, its photocell
sensing element detects the screen location and sends the corresponding signal to the CPU.
Track Ball
Track ball is an input device that is mostly used in notebook or laptop computer, instead of a mouse. This is a
ball which is half inserted and by moving fingers on the ball, the pointer can be moved.
Since the whole device is not moved, a track ball requires less space than a mouse. A track ball comes in
various shapes like a ball, a button, or a square.
Scanner
Scanner is an input device, which works more like a photocopy machine. It is used when some information is
available on paper and it is to be transferred to the hard disk of the computer for further manipulation.
Scanner captures images from the source which are then converted into a digital form that can be stored on
the disk. These images can be edited before they are printed.
Digitizer
Digitizer is an input device which converts analog information into digital form. Digitizer can convert a signal
from the television or camera into a series of numbers that could be stored in a computer. They can be used by
the computer to create a picture of whatever the camera had been pointed at.
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Digitizer is also known as Tablet or Graphics Tablet as it converts graphics and pictorial data into binary inputs.
A graphic tablet as digitizer is used for fine works of drawing and image manipulation applications.
Microphone
Microphone is an input device to input sound that is then stored in a digital form.
The microphone is used for various applications such as adding sound to a multimedia presentation or for
mixing music.
Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)
MICR input device is generally used in banks as there are large number of cheques to be processed every
day. The bank's code number and cheque number are printed on the cheques with a special type of ink that
contains particles of magnetic material that are machine readable.
This reading process is called Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR). The main advantages of MICR is
that it is fast and less error prone.
Optical Character Reader (OCR)
OCR is an input device used to read a printed text. OCR scans the text optically, character by character,
converts them into a machine readable code, and stores the text on the system memory.
Bar Code Readers
Bar Code Reader is a device used for reading bar coded data (data in the form of light and dark lines). Bar
coded data is generally used in labeling goods, numbering the books, etc. It may be a handheld scanner or
may be embedded in a stationary scanner.
Bar Code Reader scans a bar code image, converts it into an alphanumeric value, which is then fed to the
computer that the bar code reader is connected to.
Optical Mark Reader (OMR)
OMR is a special type of optical scanner used to recognize the type of mark made by pen or pencil. It is used
where one out of a few alternatives is to be selected and marked.

It is specially used for checking the answer sheets of examinations having multiple choice questions.

Computer - Output Devices

Following are some of the important output devices used in a computer.
 Monitors
 Graphic Plotter
 Printer

Monitors
Monitors, commonly called as Visual Display Unit (VDU), are the main output device of a computer. It forms
images from tiny dots, called pixels that are arranged in a rectangular form. The sharpness of the image
depends upon the number of pixels.
There are two kinds of viewing screen used for monitors.
 Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT)
 Flat-Panel Display

Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor

The CRT display is made up of small picture elements called pixels. The smaller the pixels, the better the
image clarity or resolution. It takes more than one illuminated pixel to form a whole character, such as the letter
‘e’ in the word help.
A finite number of characters can be displayed on a screen at once. The screen can be divided into a series of
character boxes - fixed location on the screen where a standard character can be placed. Most screens are
capable of displaying 80 characters of data horizontally and 25 lines vertically.
There are some disadvantages of CRT −
 Large in Size
 High power consumption

Flat-Panel Display Monitor

The flat-panel display refers to a class of video devices that have reduced volume, weight and power
requirement in comparison to the CRT. You can hang them on walls or wear them on your wrists. Current uses
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of flat-panel displays include calculators, video games, monitors, laptop computer, and graphics display.
The flat-panel display is divided into two categories −
 Emissive Displays − Emissive displays are devices that convert electrical energy into light. For
example, plasma panel and LED (Light-Emitting Diodes).
 Non-Emissive Displays − Non-emissive displays use optical effects to convert sunlight or light from
some other source into graphics patterns. For example, LCD (Liquid-Crystal Device).

Printers
Printer is an output device, which is used to print information on paper.
There are two types of printers −
 Impact Printers
 Non-Impact Printers

Impact Printers
Impact printers print the characters by striking them on the ribbon, which is then pressed on the paper.
Characteristics of Impact Printers are the following −
 Very low consumable costs
 Very noisy
 Useful for bulk printing due to low cost
 There is physical contact with the paper to produce an image
These printers are of two types −
 Character printers
 Line printers
Character Printers
Character printers are the printers which print one character at a time.
These are further divided into two types:
 Dot Matrix Printer(DMP)
 Daisy Wheel

Dot Matrix Printer

In the market, one of the most popular printers is Dot Matrix Printer. These printers are popular because of
their ease of printing and economical price. Each character printed is in the form of pattern of dots and head
consists of a Matrix of Pins of size (5*7, 7*9, 9*7 or 9*9) which come out to form a character which is why it is
called Dot Matrix Printer.

Advantages
 Inexpensive
 Widely Used
 Other language characters can be printed

Disadvantages
 Slow Speed
 Poor Quality

Daisy Wheel
Head is lying on a wheel and pins corresponding to characters are like petals of Daisy (flower) which is why it
is called Daisy Wheel Printer. These printers are generally used for word-processing in offices that require a
few letters to be sent here and there with very nice quality.

Advantages
 More reliable than DMP
 Better quality
 Fonts of character can be easily changed

Disadvantages
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 Slower than DMP
 Noisy
 More expensive than DMP

Line Printers
Line printers are the printers which print one line at a time.
These are of two types −
 Drum Printer
 Chain Printer

Drum Printer
This printer is like a drum in shape hence it is called drum printer. The surface of the drum is divided into a
number of tracks. Total tracks are equal to the size of the paper, i.e. for a paper width of 132 characters, drum
will have 132 tracks. A character set is embossed on the track. Different character sets available in the market
are 48 character set, 64 and 96 characters set. One rotation of drum prints one line. Drum printers are fast in
speed and can print 300 to 2000 lines per minute.

Advantages
 Very high speed

Disadvantages
 Very expensive
 Characters fonts cannot be changed

Chain Printer
In this printer, a chain of character sets is used, hence it is called Chain Printer. A standard character set may
have 48, 64, or 96 characters.

Advantages
 Character fonts can easily be changed.
 Different languages can be used with the same printer.

Disadvantages
 Noisy

Non-impact Printers
Non-impact printers print the characters without using the ribbon. These printers print a complete page at a
time, thus they are also called as Page Printers.
These printers are of two types −
 Laser Printers
 Inkjet Printers
Characteristics of Non-impact Printers
 Faster than impact printers
 They are not noisy
 High quality
 Supports many fonts and different character size

Laser Printers
These are non-impact page printers. They use laser lights to produce the dots needed to form the characters
to be printed on a page.
Advantages
 Very high speed
 Very high quality output
 Good graphics quality
 Supports many fonts and different character size
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Disadvantages
 Expensive
 Cannot be used to produce multiple copies of a document in a single printing

Inkjet Printers
Inkjet printers are non-impact character printers based on a relatively new technology. They print characters by
spraying small drops of ink onto paper. Inkjet printers produce high quality output with presentable features.
They make less noise because no hammering is done and these have many styles of printing modes available.
Color printing is also possible. Some models of Inkjet printers can produce multiple copies of printing also.

Advantages
 High quality printing
 More reliable

Disadvantages
 Expensive as the cost per page is high
 Slow as compared to laser printer

Storage Devices
The most common forms of storage devices in a home computer are:
 Hard disk drive
 Floppy disk
 CD-ROM
 CD-R and CD-RW
 DVD-ROM
 USB flash drives

1) Hard disk and hard drive (HD)

A hard disk is a magnetic disk on which you can store computer data on a more permanent basis. The
term “hard” is used to distinguish it from a soft, or floppy, disk. Hard disks hold more data and are much faster
than floppy disks and optical disks. A hard drive is a mechanism that reads and writes data on a hard disk. The
capacity of hard drives in newer PCs ranges from 20GB to 60GB in size since all software, from operating
systems to word processors, and media files have grown tremendously in size over the last few years.
2) Floppy disk and floppy drive
A floppy disk (often called floppy or disk) is a soft magnetic disk and a floppy drive is a mechanism that
reads and writes data on a floppy. Unlike most hard disks, floppy disks are portable, because you can remove
them from a disk drive. Floppy disks are slower to access than hard disks and have less storage capacity, but
they are much less expensive.
The common size of floppies for PCs made before 1987 was 5¼ inches. This type of floppy was generally
capable of storing between 100KB and 1.2MB of data. After 1987 the size reduced to 3½ inches, but the data
storage capacity increased, from 400KB to 1.44MB. The most common sizes for PCs are 720KB (double-
density) and 1.44MB (high-density).

3) Optical disk and optical drive

Optical disks can store information at much higher densities than floppy disks. Thus, they are ideal for
multimedia applications where images, animation and sound occupy a lot of disk space. Besides, they are not
affected by magnetic fields. This means that they are secure and stable; for example, they can be transported
through airport metal detectors without damaging the data. However, optical drives are slower than hard
drives.
There are various types of optical disks and drives:
A. CD-ROM (short for “Compact Disk-Read-Only Memory”) and CD-ROM drive
A CD-ROM, an optical disk onto which data has been written via a laser, can store everything, from shareware
programs to dictionaries and encyclopedias, from multimedia databases to 3-D games. CD-ROMs are
considered the most economical devices of storing and sharing information. For example, a CD-ROM (700
MB) can replace 300,000 pages of text (about 50 floppies), which represents a lot of savings in distributing
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materials and data. Yet, you can only read information on a CD-ROM but cannot write anything on it.
A CD-ROM drive is used to play CD-ROMs and it can also play audio CDs. CD-ROM drives are available in a
variety of different speeds, the speed being described thus: 12x, 16x, 24x, 32x, 48x, etc. This indicates the
speed at which data can be pulled off the CD-ROM drive. Higher-speed CD-ROM drives help to transfer data
more quickly, which is crucial when playing sound or video.

B. CD-R, CD-RW and CD-R/CD-RW drive (also called CD-burner or CD-Recorder)

CD-R (short for “Compact Disk Recordable”) drives record data on CD-R disks (but write once only), allowing
you to create and duplicate CD-ROMs and audio CDs. They can also be used to back up hard disks or to
distribute and archive information. CD-RW (short for “Compact Disk Rewritable”) drives can erase and reuse
data on CD-RW disks. In fact, to create CD-ROMs and audio CDs, you'll need not only a CD burner, but also a
CD-R/CD-RW software package.

C. DVD-ROM (“DVD” is short for “digital video disk” or “digital versatile disk”)
A DVD-ROM (or just DVD) is a type of optical disk technology similar to the CD-ROM. It can hold up to 17 GB
of data, about 25 times an ordinary CD-ROM. For this reason, a DVD-ROM can store a large amount of
multimedia software and complete movies in different languages. It can also play music CDs and CD-ROMs.
DVDs are read-only devices. To avoid this limitation, companies also produce DVD-R/DVD-RW disks and
DVD-burners.
4) USB flash drive
A USB flash drive is a small, portable flash memory card that plugs into a computer’s USB port and
functions as a portable hard drive with up to 2GB of storage capacity. USB flash drives are easy-to-use
because they are small enough to be carried in a pocket and can plug into any computer with a USB drive. In
addition, they are very durable because they do not contain any internal moving parts. USB flash drives also
are called pen drives, key drives, or simply USB drives.
Volatile Memory
Volatile memory is computer memory that requires power to maintain the stored information. Most modern
semiconductor volatile memory is either Static RAM (see SRAM) or dynamic RAM (see DRAM). SRAM retains
its contents as long as the power is connected and is easy to interface to but uses six transistors per bit.
Dynamic RAM is more complicated to interface to and control and needs regular refresh cycles to prevent its
contents being lost. However, DRAM uses only one transistor and a capacitor per bit, allowing it to reach much
higher densities and, with more bits on a memory chip, be much cheaper per bit. SRAM is not worthwhile for
desktop system memory, where DRAM dominates, but is used for their cache memories. SRAM is
commonplace in small embedded systems, which might only need tens of kilobytes or less. Forthcoming
volatile memory technologies that hope to replace or compete with SRAM and DRAM include Z-RAM, TTRAM,
A-RAM and ETA RAM.
Non-Volatile Memory
Non-volatile memory is computer memory that can retain the stored information even when not powered.
Examples of non-volatile memory include read-only memory (see ROM), flash memory, most types of
magnetic computer storage devices (e.g. hard disks, floppy discs and magnetic tape), optical discs, and early
computer storage methods such as paper tape and punched cards. Forthcoming non-volatile memory
technologies include FeRAM, CBRAM,PRAM, SONOS, RRAM, Racetrack memory, NRAM and Millipede