Introduction to Peripherals

A peripheral is a device that can be attached to the computer processor. Peripheral devices can be external,
such as a mouse, keyboard, printer, monitor or scanner. Peripheral devices can also be internal, such as a CD-
ROM drive, DVD-R drive or modem.

Devices are usually classified as input, output or backing storage devices.

• Input Devices Input can take a variety of forms, from commands you enter from the keyboard to
data from another computer or device. A device that feeds data into a computer processor is called
an input device.

Examples of common input devices are:

Keyboard- The Binary pattern in keyboard is usually in ASCII Code. The ASCII code for the chosen
character is sent out from the keyboard using serial data transmission. In serial data transmission, a
data word is sent one a bit at a time. The interface needs to store the received character from the
keyboard until the processor is ready to accept it.

Pointers: Pointing devices take the forms of tacker ball, joystick and mouse- There are 2 different
ways a pointer can operate. It can be a ball mechanism or optical operation using infra-red. As the
ball or light inside the mouse is moved it sends signals to the computer moving the position of the
pointer on the screen. When the pointer is in the correct position a button on the device can be
pressed to tell the computer that you wish to access that information.

Scanners- Scanners use optical recognition systems that have a light beam to scan
input data to convert it into electrical signals, which are sent to the computer for processing.

Digital Cameras/Video Cameras-When the shutter is opened light passes through the lens affecting
parts of the film. Later the film is treated in a chemical process and the final picture can be
produced. With the advent of the digital camera the film has been removed and replaced by an
array of photosensitive cells which reacts in a similar way to the film. The images are stored
electronically. This electronically stored information can then be transferred to a computer.

• Output Devices-Output can also appear in a variety of forms - text, video, graphics, and so on. A
device that shows data from a computer processor is an output device.

Monitors-Most monitors are considered output devices since they usually only serve the purpose of
outputting information to the screen.

Printer-A printer is an external hardware output device that takes the electronic data device that
takes the electronic data stored on a computer or other device and generates a hardcopy of it.

• Storage Device-Backing storage is a device which holds and retains data. These devices allow the
user to save data in a more permanent way than RAM so that data is not lost and may be used later.
 Common Example are:

Universal Serial Bus (USB) Flash Memory are often used for storage, data back-up and transferring
of computer files. Compared with floppy disks or CDs, they are smaller, faster, have significantly
more capacity, and are more durable due to a lack of moving parts

Random Access Memory (Ram)-RAM is a computer’s primary memory. It is a very fast solid-state
storage medium that is directly accessible by the CPU. Any open programs or files on a computer are
temporarily stored in RAM whilst being used.

CD-DVD and Blu-Ray Discs drive- are optical devices. Binary data is stored as changes to the texture
of the disc’s surface, sometimes thought of a microscopic pits and bumps.

Hard Disk Drive (HDD) – are non-volatile magnetic storage devices capable of remembering vast
amounts of data.

Interfacing Peripherals
• Computer peripherals such as disc drives, printers, mice etc. all work in totally different ways
and linking them to the processor is a difficult task. They all work at different speeds, use
different codes, transfer different amounts of data at a time and even work at different voltages.

• Interface -The interface is the link between the

processor and the peripheral. Its task is to transfer
data so that the processor is delayed as little as possible

• Functional requirements of any peripheral device interface

The following may have to be completed before communication can happen

Data Conversion - The conversion of data representation (code) to and/or from the processor and
the peripheral. This could include serial to parallel and/or analogue to digital conversion.

Data Storage - The storage of data in transit between processor and peripheral using buffers.

Status Information - The supply of status information to the processor indicating the readiness of
the peripheral device to transmit or receive data.

Control Signals- The reception and generation of control signals.

Device Selection -The recognition of device information. Device codes are used to distinguish
between different peripherals. This is a number code which allows the processor to identify and
select a particular peripheral.

Voltage Conversion- The conversion of different voltages to and/or from the processor form and the
peripheral device form.
 Protocol Conversion -The conversion of different protocols to and/or from the processor and the
peripheral.

Speed -The conversion of different speeds to and/or from the fast processor and the slow
peripherals.

Parallel and Serial Transmission

• Communications Data can be transmitted using 2 different methods. The Parallel and Serial
Transmissions

• Parallel Transmission-This is when several bits are transmitted simultaneously over several lines.
Parallel transmission is used extensively within the computer for high speed data transfers on
various buses.

• Serial Transmission-This is when a single line is used to transmit bits, one at a time.
 Current Trends of Interface of Speed

• Many different factors have contributed to the improvement in computer system performance. The
speed of interfaces is one of them. Due to the amount of data required to be sent and received from
peripherals to the CPU, how much data that can be sent per second is an important factor. The
introduction of multimedia with memory intensive media types has led data rates to rise to
multigigabit levels.

• Below is a table showing speeds of different types of interfaces:

• I/O Interface Maximum Speed (Megabytes/sec.)

• 10 MB Ethernet 1.28
• 1 GB Ethernet 131.00
• Standard Parallel 0.15
• USB 1.50
• IDE/EIDE PIO Mode 4 16.70
• ATA 133 133.00
• Serial ATA III 600.00
• IEEE 1394 (Firewire) 51.20
• SCSI 2 Wide 20.00
• Ultra 320 SCSI 320.00
• Serial Storage Architecture (SSA) 20.00 - 40.00
• Fibre Channel (FC-AL) 100.00 - 200.00

Wireless Technology Between Peripherals and CPU

• Bluetooth is an example of wireless technology. It is a short-range radio technology aimed at

simplifying communications among Internet devices and between devices and the Internet. It also
aims to simplify data synchronization between Internet devices and other computers.

• Wireless telecommunications hold promise for people with disabilities because it enhances both
mobility and communications, two functions that are often challenging for people with certain kinds
of disabilities. Ordinary cordless telephones have long been useful devices for people who have
mobility disabilities and cannot rush to the telephone. Similarly, mobile telephones have been
valuable safety devices for people with mobility disabilities travelling alone, and they can help
compensate for the lack of accessibility of many pay telephones. Pagers and other wireless data
communications systems have been used for communicating with deaf persons.