Peripheral unit computer

A computer peripheral is a device that is connected to a computer but is not part of the
core computer architecture. The core elements of a computer are the central processing unit,
power supply, motherboard and the computer case that contains those three components.
Technically speaking, everything else is considered a peripheral device.
A peripheral device is generally defined as any auxiliary device such as a computer
mouse or keyboard that connects to and works with the computer in some way. Other examples
of peripherals are expansion cards, graphics cards, image scanners, tape drives, microphones,
loudspeakers, webcams, and digital cameras. RAM - random access memory - straddles the line
between peripheral and primary component; it is technically a storage peripheral, but is required
for every major function of a modern computer and removing the RAM will effectively disable
any modern machine. Many new devices such as digital watches, smart phones and tablet
computers have interfaces which allow them to be used as a peripheral by a full computer,
though they are not host-dependent as other peripheral devices are.
Peripheral devices can be external or internal. Usually, the word peripheral is used to
refer to a device external to the computer case, like a scanner, but the devices located inside the
computer case are also technically peripherals. Devices that exist outside the computer case are
called external peripherals, examples are: "Many of the external peripherals I own, such as my
scanner and printer, connect to the peripheral ports on the back of my computer. Devices that
are inside the case such as internal hard drives or CD-ROM drives are also peripherals in
technical terms and are called internal peripherals, but may not be recognized as peripherals by
laypeople.
The concept of what exactly is 'peripheral' is therefore somewhat fluid. For a desktop
computer, a keyboard and a monitor are considered peripherals - you can easily connect and
disconnect them and replace them if needed. For a laptop computer, these components are built
into the computer system and can't be easily removed.
The term 'peripheral' also does not mean it is not essential for the function of the
computer. Some devices, such as a printer, can be disconnected and the computer will keep on
working just fine. However, remove the monitor of a desktop computer and it becomes pretty
much useless.
There are many different peripheral devices, but they fall into three general categories:
Input devices, such as a mouse and a keyboard
Output devices, such as a monitor and a printer
Storage devices, such as a hard drive or flash drive

Input devices are keyboard, computer mouse, graphic tablet, touch screen, barcode reader,
scanner, microphone, webcam, game controller etc.
A keyboard is a typewriter-style device, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys,
to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. A keyboard typically has characters engraved
or printed on the keys and each press of a key typically corresponds to a single written symbol.
However, to produce some symbols requires pressing and holding several keys simultaneously or
in sequence. While most keyboard keys produce letters, numbers or signs (characters), other keys
or simultaneous key presses can produce actions or execute computer commands.
A mouse is a pointing device that detects two-dimensional motion relative to a surface.
This motion is typically translated into the motion of a pointer on a display, which allows for fine
control of a graphical user interface. The mouse turns movements of the hand backward and
forward, left and right into equivalent electronic signals that in turn are used to move the pointer.
A graphics tablet is a computer input device that enables a user to hand-draw images,
animations and graphics, similar to the way a person draws images with a pencil and paper.
These tablets may also be used to capture data or handwritten signatures. The device consists of a
flat surface upon which the user may "draw" or trace an image using an attached stylus, a penlike drawing apparatus. The image is displayed on the computer monitor, although some graphics
tablets also have a screen.
A touch screen is an electronic visual display that the user can control through simple or
multi-touch gestures by touching the screen with a special stylus/pen and-or one or more fingers.
Some touch screens use an ordinary or specially coated gloves to work while others use a special
stylus/pen only. The user can use the touch screen to react to what is displayed and to control
how it is displayed (for example by zooming the text size).
A barcode reader (or barcode scanner) is an electronic device for reading printed
barcodes. Like a flatbed scanner, it consists of a light source, a lens and a light sensor translating
optical impulses into electrical ones. Additionally, nearly all barcode readers contain decoder
circuitry analyzing the barcode's image data provided by the sensor and sending the barcode's
content to the scanner's output port.
An image scanner is a device that optically scans images, printed text, handwriting, or an
object, and converts it to a digital image.
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound in air
into an electrical signal.
A webcam is a video camera that feeds or streams its image in real time to or through a
computer to computer network. When "captured" by the computer, the video stream may be
saved, viewed or sent on to other networks via systems such as the internet, and email as an
attachment. When sent to a remote location, the video stream may be saved, viewed or on sent
there. A webcam is generally connected by a USB cable, or similar cable, or built into computer
hardware, such as laptops.

A game controller is a device used with games or entertainment systems to provide input
to a video game, typically to control an object or character in the game. A controller is usually
connected to a game console or computer by means of a wire or cord, although, since the mid2000s, wireless controllers have become widespread. Input devices that have been classified as
game controllers include keyboards, mice, gamepads, joysticks, etc.
Output devices are computer display, printer, projector, speaker, etc.
A printer is a peripheral which makes a persistent human-readable representation of
graphics or text on paper or similar physical media. The two most common printer mechanisms
are black and white laser printers used for common documents, and color ink jet printers which
can produced high-quality photograph-quality output.
A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving
images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by
shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer types of projectors can project
the image directly, by using lasers. A virtual retinal display, or retinal projector, is a projector that
projects an image directly on the retina instead of using an external projection screen.
Storage devices are flash drive, disk drive, smart phone or tablet computer storage interface,
CD/DVD drive, etc.
A USB flash drive is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated
Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. USB flash drives are typically removable and rewritable,
and physically much smaller than an optical disc. USB flash drives are often used for the same
purposes for which floppy disks or CDs were used, i.e., for storage, data back-up and transfer of
computer files. They are smaller, faster, have thousands of times more capacity, and are more
durable and reliable because they have no moving parts. Additionally, they are immune to
magnetic interference (unlike floppy disks), and are unharmed by surface scratches (unlike CDs).
Disk storage is a general category of storage mechanisms where data are recorded by
various electronic, magnetic, optical, or mechanical changes to a surface layer of one or more
rotating disks.
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed optical compact disc which contains data. Computers can
read CD-ROMs, but cannot write on the CD-ROMs which are not writable or erasable. DVD is a
digital optical disc storage format and can be played in multiple types of players, including DVD
players. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than compact discs while having the same
dimensions.

Literature

1. http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/what-are-peripheral-devices-of-a-computerdefinition-examples-types.html#lesson
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral
3.http://books.google.rs/books?
id=KR5X5ZTDJfIC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=peripheral+units+computer&source=bl&ots=Qhu
gUVZyoq&sig=322bWmnuT3dRKo8_JS6eMxbmhbE&hl=sr&sa=X&ei=dJBUVK_TKIb7POe
KgJAJ&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBTgK#v=onepage&q=peripheral%20units%20computer&f=false