Indian Institute of Health and Allied Sciences (IIHAS)

Computer Studies

Lecture Two
Input-output Devices
Generally, we give data and programs to the computer. So what we give to the Computer is
known as input. Through which device we give the input is called input device.
Generally we get information from the computer, so what we get from the computer is called
output. Through which device we get output is called output device.
Input
•It is the process of capturing or acquiring data, or it is the process of accepting data or
information.

•Information or data that is entered into a computer or using input devices.

Types of Computer Input
Data: the raw facts given to the computer.
Programs: the sets of instructions that direct the computer what to do.
Commands: special codes or key words that the user inputs to perform a task.
User response: the user's answer to the computer's question.
An input device presents data to the processing unit in a machine-readable form.
Input devices
Any hardware component that allows you to enter data, programs, commands, and user
responses into a computer
Although the keyboard is a common input device for a small computer, a system may also
support various other input devices such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Magnetic
Ink Character Recognition (MICR), mark sense reader, etc.
Key board
The keyboard is very much like a standard typewriter keyboard with a few additional keys.
The basic QWERTY layout of characters is maintained to make it easy for the trained typist
to use the system. The additional keys are included to perform certain special functions such
as loading a program, editing a text, etc. These are known as function keys that vary in
number from system to system.
Optical Character Recognition
Often abbreviated as OCR, optical character recognition involves reading text from paper and
translating the images into a form that the computer can manipulate. An OCR system enables
you to take a book or a magazine article and feed it directly into an electronic computer file.

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Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
A MICR can identify characters printed with a special ink that contain particles of magnetic
material. This device particularly finds applications in banking industry. Since the MICR
system can recognize only certain character styles, the characters have to be accurately
formed.
Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)
Optical mark recognition, also called mark sense reader, is a technology where an OMR
device senses the presence or absence of a mark, such as pencil mark.
OMR is widely used in tests such as aptitude tests.
Bar Code Reader
These devices are generally available in super markets, bookshops, etc.
Bar-code readers are photoelectric scanners that read the bar codes or vertical zebra striped
marks, printed on product containers. Supermarkets use a bar code system called the
Universal Product Code (UPC). The bar code identifies the product to the supermarket’s
computer which has a description and the latest price of the product. The computer
automatically tells the Point of Sales (POS) terminal what the price is.
Digitizing Tablet
This is an input device that enables you to enter drawings and sketches into a computer. A
digitizing tablet consists of an electronic tablet and a cursor or pen. A cursor (also called a
puck) is similar to a mouse, except that it has a window with cross hairs for pinpoint
placement, and it can have as many as 16 buttons. A pen (also called a stylus) looks like a
simple ballpoint pen but uses an electronic head instead of ink. The tablet contains electronic
field that enables it to detect movement of the cursor or pen and translate the movements into
digital signals that it sends to the computer. Digitizing tablets are also called digitizers,
graphics tablets, touch tablets or simply tablets.
Scanner
Scanner is an input device that can read text or illustrations printed on paper and translate the
information into a form that the computer can use. A scanner works by digitizing an image -
dividing it into a grid of boxes and representing each box with either a zero or a one,
depending on whether the box is filled in. The resulting matrix of bits, called a bit map, can
then be stored in a file, displayed on a screen and manipulated by programs. Optical scanners
do not distinguish text from illustrations, they represent all images as bit maps. Therefore,
you cannot directly edit text that has been scanned. To edit text read by an optical scanner,
you need an optical character recognition (OCR) system to translate the image into ASCII
characters. Most optical scanners sold today come with OCR packages.

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Mouse
Mouse is a device that controls the movement of the cursor or pointer on a display screen. It
is a small object you can roll along a hard and flat surface. As you move the mouse, the
pointer on the display screen moves in the same direction.
Mouse contains at least one button and sometimes as many as three, which have different
functions depending on what program is running.
Light Pen
Light pen is an input device that utilizes a light-sensitive detector to select objects on a
display screen.
Speech input devices
Speech or voice input devices convert a person’s speech into digital form. These input
devices, when combined with appropriate software, form voice recognition systems. These
systems enable users to operate microcomputers using voice commands.

Output
It is the result, which comes from the transformation process or it is the outcome of the
processing. It’s anything that comes out of a computer.
Types of Computer Output
Hard copy
 Printed on paper or other permanent media.
Soft copy
 A soft copy is the unprinted digital document file.
 Displayed on screen or by other non-permanent means.
 It can be transported from one computer to another.
Output Devices
Output devices receive information from the CPU and present it to the user in the desired
form. Output devices include display screen, loudspeakers, printers, plotters, etc.
Display Screen
When a program is keyed in, the screen (which is similar to a television screen) displays the
characters. The user can read the program line by line and make corrections before it is stored
or printed on a printer. It is also possible to bring to the screen a portion of the program stored
in the external storage for editing. Screen sizes differ from system to system. The standard
size is 24 lines by 80 characters. Most systems have provision for scrolling. This facilitates
the user to move the text vertically or horizontally on the screens thus bringing to the screen

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the hidden text. Thus the user can scan through the entire file either to review or to select a
particular portion. The cursor on the screen is controlled by the cursor keys on the keyboard.

Printer
Printer is a device that prints text or illustrations on paper and in many cases on
transparencies and other media. There are many different types of printers. In terms of the
technology utilized, printer fall into the following categories.
(i) Ink-jet Printer
Ink-jet printers work by spraying ionized ink on a sheet of paper. Magnetized plates in the
ink’s path direct the ink onto the paper in the desired shapes. Inkjet printers are capable of
producing high quality print approaching to that produced by laser printers. A typical ink-jet
printer provides a resolution of 300 dots per inch, although some newer models offer higher
resolutions.
In general, the price of ink-jet printers is lower than that of laser printers.
However, they are also considerably slower. Another drawback of ink-jet printers is that they
require a special type of ink that is apt to smudge on inexpensive copier paper.
Because ink-jet printers require smaller mechanical parts than laser printers, they are
especially popular as portable printers. In addition, color ink-jet printers provide an
inexpensive way to print full-color documents.

Ink - Jet Printer

(ii) Laser Printer
Laser Printer utilizes a laser beam to produce an image on a drum. The light of the laser alters
the electrical charge on the drum wherever it hits. The drum is then rolled through a reservoir
of toner, which is picked up by the charged portions of the drum. Finally, the toner is
transferred to the paper through a combination of heat and pressure. This is also the way copy
machines work.
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Because an entire page is transmitted to a drum before the toner is applied, laser printers are
sometimes called page printers. There are two other types of page printers that fall under the
category of laser printers even though they do not use lasers at all. One uses an array of LEDs
to expose the drum, and the other uses LCDs. Once the drum is charged, however, they both
operate like a real laser printer.
(iii) Line Printer
Line printers are high-speed printers capable of printing an entire line at one time. A fast line
printer can print as many as 3,000 lines per minute. The disadvantages of line printers are that
they can print only one font, they cannot print graphics, the print quality is low, and they are
very noisy.
(iv) Thermal printer
Thermal printers are printers that produce images by pushing electrically heated pins against
special heat-sensitive paper. Thermal printers are inexpensive and are used in most
calculators and many fax machines. They produce low quality print, and the paper tends to
curl and fade after a few weeks or months.
Plotter
Plotter is a device that draws pictures on paper based on commands from a computer. Plotters
differ from printers in that they draw lines using a pen. As a result, they can produce
continuous lines, whereas printers can only simulate lines by printing a closely spaced series
of dots. Multicolor plotters use different colored pens to draw different colours.
In general, plotters are considerably more expensive than printers. They are used in
engineering applications where precision is mandatory.
Sound Cards & Speakers
An expansion board that enables a computer to manipulate and output sounds. Sound cards
are necessary for nearly all CD-ROMs and have become common place on modern personal
computers. Sound cards enable the computer to output sound through speakers connected to
the board, to record sound input from a microphone connected to the computer, and
manipulate sound stored on a disk.
Nearly all sound cards support MIDI, a standard for representing music electronically. In
addition, most sound cards are Sound Blaster-compatible, which means that they can process
commands written for a Sound Blaster card, the de facto standard for PC sound.

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3D-Audio
3D audio is a technique for giving more depth to traditional stereo sound.
Typically, 3D sound, or 3D audio, is produced by placing a device in a room with stereo
speakers. The device dynamically analyses the sound coming from the speakers and sends
feedback to the sound system so that it can readjust the sound to give the impression that the
speakers are further apart. 3D audio devices are particularly popular for improving computer
audio where the speakers tend to be small and close together. There are a number of
3D audio devices that can be attached to a computer’s sound card.
System Unit
The motherboard, or system board, is the main circuit board of the system unit
•The processor, also called the central processing unit (CPU), interprets and carries out the
basic instructions that operate a computer
•The control unit interprets the instructions
•The arithmetic/logic unit (ALU) performs the logical and arithmetic processes
•Memory, also called random access memory, or RAM, consists of electronic components
that store data, instructions, and information, as needed by the processor
Processing
•It is the transformation process to convert the input into output.
•A process is an instance of running a program.
•It cause the computer to follow instructions from the Memory.
•Perform by Central Processing Unit (CPU).
Memory unit
Memory means storage of data and the program. In computer’s memory both data and
programs are stored in the binary form. The binary system has only two values 0 and 1. These
are called bits.
As human beings we all understand decimal system but the computer can only understand
binary system. It is because a large number of integrated circuits inside the computer can be

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considered as switches, which can be made ON, or OFF. If a switch is ON it is considered 1
and if it is OFF it is 0. A number of switches in different states will give you a message like
this: 110101......10. So the computer takes input in the form of 0 and 1 and gives output in the
same form, i.e., 0 and 1 only. Every number in binary system can be converted to decimal
system and vice versa; for example, decimal number 9 means 1001.
Therefore, it is the computer that takes information or data in decimal form from you,
converts it into binary form, processes it, producing output in binary form and finally again
converts the output to decimal form.
Memory sizes (Capacity):
The size of memory is termed in terms KB, MB, GB etc.
1 Byte = 8 bits
1 Kilo Byte (KB) = 1024 Bytes (210)
1 Mega Byte (MB) = 1024 KB
1 Giga Byte (GB) = 1024 MB
1 Tera Byte (TB) = 1024 GB
1 Peta Byte (PB) = 1024 TB
1 Exa Byte (EB) = 1024 PB
1 Zetta Byte (ZB) = 1024 EB
1 Yotta Byte (YB) = 1024 ZB
Byte is used to store one character such as (alphabets (a-z), digits (0-9) or special symbols
+,-, $, % etc.). Each cell of memory contains one character or 1 byte of data. So the capacity
is defined in terms of byte or words. Thus 64 kilobyte (KB) memory is capable of storing 64
x 1024 = 32,768 bytes. (1 kilobyte is equal to 1024 bytes). A memory size ranges from few
kilobytes in small systems to several thousands of Giga bytes in large mainframe and super
computers.

Suppose a memory card size is 2 GB means that it can store

2GB = 2 x 1024 MB
= 2 x 1024 x 1024 KB
= 2 x 1024 x 1024 x 1024 Bytes
= 2147483648 bytes
There are two kinds of computer memory: primary and secondary.
Primary Memory
Primary Memory is also known as internal memory or main memory. As soon as the
computer is switched off, the contents of the primary memory is lost. You can store and
retrieve data much faster with primary memory compared to secondary memory. Primary
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memory is more expensive than secondary memory. When the computer is doing any job, the
data that have to be processed are stored in the primary memory. This data may come from an
input device like keyboard or from a secondary storage device like a floppy disk, memory
card or pen drive etc.,.
The primary memory itself is implemented by two types of memory technologies. The first is
called Random Access Memory (RAM) and the other is read only memory (ROM). A more
appropriate name for RAM is RWM (Read Write Memory), the CPU can write and read
information from any primary memory location implemented using RAM. The other part of
primary memory is implemented using ROM which stands for Read Only Memory.
(a) Random Access Memory (RAM): The primary storage is referred to as Random Access
Memory (RAM) because it is possible to randomly select and use any location of the memory
directly to store and retrieve data. It takes same time to any address of the memory as the first
address. It is also called read/write memory. The storage of data and instructions inside the
primary storage is temporary. It disappears from RAM as soon as the power to the computer
is switched off. The memories, which lose their content on failure of power supply, are
known as volatile memories. So now we can say that RAM is volatile memory.
(b) Read Only Memory (ROM): There is another memory in computer, which is called
Read Only Memory (ROM). Again it is the ICs inside the PC that form the ROM. The
storage of program and data in the ROM is permanent.
The ROM stores some standard processing programs supplied by the manufacturers to
operate the personal computer. The ROM can only be read by the CPU but it cannot be
changed. The basic input/output program is stored in the ROM that examines and initializes
various equipment attached to the PC when the switch is turned ON. The memories, which do
not lose their content on failure of power supply, are known as non-volatile memories. ROM
is nonvolatile memory.
(c) PROM: There is another type of primary memory in computer, which is called
Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM). You know that it is not possible to modify or
erase programs stored in ROM, but it is possible for you to store your program in PROM
chip. Once the programs are written it cannot be changed and remain intact even if power is
switched off. Therefore, programs or instructions written in PROM or ROM cannot be erased
or changed.
(d) EPROM: This stands for Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory, which overcome
the problem of PROM and ROM. EPROM chip can be programmed time and again by
erasing the information stored earlier in it.
Information stored in EPROM can be erased by exposing it to ultraviolet light.

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This memory can be reprogrammed using a special programming facility. When the EPROM
is in use, information can only be read.
(e) EAPROM: This stands for Electrically Alterable Programmable Read
Only Memory. This concept is same as that of EPROM. The only difference is that the
memory can be altered using electrical signals. The whole of the memory need not be erased.
(f) Cache Memory: The speed of CPU is extremely high compared to the access time of
main memory. Therefore, the performance of CPU decreases due to the slow speed of main
memory. The decreases the mismatch in operating speed, a small memory chip is attached
between CPU and Main memory whose access time is very close to the processing speed of
CPU. It is called CACHE memory. CACHE memories are accessed much faster than
conventional RAM.
It is used to store programs or data currently being executed or temporary data frequently
used by the CPU. It is also very expensive to have bigger size of cache memory. Its size is
therefore, normally kept small.
(g) Registers: The CPU processes data and instruction with high speed.
There is also movement of data between various units of the computer. It is necessary to
transfer the processed data with high speed. So the computer uses a number of special
memory units called registers. They are not part of the main memory but they store data or
information temporarily and pass it on as directed by the control unit.
Secondary Storage (Auxiliary Memory)
The operating speed of primary memory or main memory should be as fast as possible to
cope up with the CPU speed. These high-speed storage devices are very expensive and hence
the cost per bit of storage is also very high. Again, the storage capacity of the main memory
is also very limited.
Often it is necessary to store hundreds of millions of bytes of data for the
CPU to process. Therefore, additional memory is required in all the computer systems. This
memory is called auxiliary memory or secondary storage.
In this type of memory the cost per bit of storage is low. However, the operating speed is
slower than that of the primary memory. Huge volume of data are stored here on permanent
basis and transferred to the primary storage as and when required. Most widely used
secondary storage devices are magnetic tapes, magnetic disks and floppy disks, Compact
disks and Pen drives etc.,
Magnetic Tape
Magnetic tapes are used for large computers like mainframe computers where large volume
of data is stored for a longer time. In PCs also you can use tapes in the form of cassettes. The
cost of storing data in tapes is inexpensive.
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Tapes consist of magnetic materials that store data permanently. It can be 12.5 mm to 25 mm
wide plastic film-type and 500 meter to 1200 meter long which is coated with magnetic
material. The deck is connected to the central processor and information is fed into or read
from the tape through the processor. It is similar to cassette tape recorder.
Advantages of Magnetic Tape
Compact: A 10-inch diameter reel of tape is 2400 feet long and is able to hold 800, 1600 or
6250 characters in each inch of its length. The maximum capacity of such type is 180 million
characters. Thus data are stored much more compact on tape
Economical: The cost of storing characters on tape is very less as compared to other storage
devices.
Fast: Copying of data is easier and fast.
Long term Storage and Re-usability: Magnetic tapes can be used for long term storage and
a tape can be used repeatedly without loss of data.

Magnetic Disk
You might have seen the gramophone record, which is circular like a disk and coated with
magnetic material. Magnetic disks used in computer are made on the same principle. It
rotates with very high speed inside the disk drive. Data are stored on both the surface of the
disk. Magnetic disks are most popular for direct access storage. Each disk consists of a
number of invisible concentric circles called tracks. Information is recorded on tracks of a
disk surface in the form of tiny magnetic sports. The presence of a magnetic sport represents
one bit (1) and its absence represents zero bit (0). The information stored in a disk can be
read many times without affecting the stored data. So the reading operation is non-
destructive. But if you want to write a new data, then the existing data is erased from the disk
and new data is recorded.
Floppy Disk

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It is similar to magnetic disk discussed above. It is 3.5 inch in diameter. The capacity of a 3.5
inch floppy is 1.44 megabytes. It is cheaper than any other storage devices and is portable.
The floppy is a low cost device particularly suitable for personal computer system.
Optical Disk
With every application and software there is greater demand for memory capacity. It is the
necessity to store large volume of data that has led to the development of optical disk storage
medium. Optical disks can be divided into the following categories.
(i) Compact Disk/Read Only Memory (CD-ROM): CD-ROM disks are made of reflective
metals. CD-ROM is written during the process of manufacturing by high power laser beam.
Here the storage density is very high, storage cost is very low and access time is relatively
fast. Each disk is approximately 4 1/2 inches in diameter and can hold over 600 MB of data.
As the CD-ROM can be read only we cannot write or make changes into the data contained
in it.
(ii) Write Once Read Many (WORM): The inconvenience that we cannot write anything in
to a CD-ROM is avoided in WORM. A WORM allows the user to write data permanently on
the disk. Once the data is written it can never be erased without physically damaging the disk.
Here data can be recorded from keyboard, video scanner, OCR equipment and other devices.
The advantage of WORM is that it can store vast amount of data amounting to gigabytes.
Any document in a WORM can be accessed very fast.
(iii) Erasable Optical Disk: These are optical disks where data can be written, erased and re-
written. This also applies a laser beam to write and rewrite the data. These disks may be used
as alternatives to traditional disks.
Erasable optical disks are based on a technology known as magnetic optical
(MO). To write a data bit on the erasable optical disk the MO drive’s laser beam heats a tiny,
precisely defined point on the disk’s surface and magnetizes it.
Flash drive: Flash drives have many names — jump drives, thumb drives, pen drives, and
USB keychain drives. Regardless of what you call them, they all refer to the same thing,
which is a small data storage device that uses flash memory and has a built-in USB
connection.
Flash drives are typically no more than two to three inches in length and less than an inch in
width. Their size and shape may resemble a thumb or a small pen (which is where the names
“thumb drive” and “pen drive” come from).
Flash drives are also very thin, often having a depth of less than a centimeter.
Because of their small form factor, they are highly portable and can easily fit in a pocket or
on a keychain (hence the name “keychain drive”).

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Nowadays flash drives can store several gigabytes of information. Since they are small in size
but have large storage capacities, flash drives have replaced most previous portable data
storage mediums such as floppy disks and removable hard disks like Zip disks. Because they
have a built-in USB connection, flash drives also don’t require a special disk drive to be used.
Instead, they can be used on any computer with a USB port, which nearly all modern
computers have. Below is the diagram of a pen drive.

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