Popis ulazno-izlaznih uređaja

Možda svoje računalo smatrate objektom ili jednom stvari, ali nije. To je više ekosustav ili kolektiv, sastavljen od više manjih uređaja. Mnogi od tih uređaja koriste se za premještanje informacija, a opisuju se – sasvim logično – kao ulazni i izlazni uređaji . Nijedan popis ulaznih i izlaznih primjera ne može biti potpun, ali uobičajeni spadaju u relativno mali broj kategorija.

Ulaz u odnosu na izlaz u računalnim uvjetima

Svako je računalo, ako ga svedete na osnovne funkcije, alat za rad s informacijama . Da bi radilo, te informacije moraju doći do procesora, a zatim, nakon što se obrade, računalo mora učiniti nešto s rezultatima. To je jednostavan način za objašnjenje složenog procesa, ali objašnjava razliku između ulaznih i izlaznih uređaja. Ako daje informacije procesoru, to je ulazni uređaj, a ako prihvaća informacije od procesora, to je izlazni uređaj.

Primjeri ulaznih uređaja

Ogroman broj ulaznih uređaja koji se koriste s računalima može se razvrstati u kategorije na više načina, ovisno o tome kako ih klasificirate. Jedan jednostavan način je razdvojiti one koje sami koristite od onih koji pretvaraju analogne informacije u digitalne podatke za računalo.

Uređaji za ručni unos

U pravilu, sve što koristite rukama vjerojatno je ulazni uređaj. Ovi uređaji za ručni unos spadaju u nekoliko širokih kategorija:

• Tipkovnice :Na stolnom ili prijenosnom računalu tipkovnica je obično najvažniji uređaj za unos. To je obično način na koji upisujete informacije u svoje računalo ili radite bilo što kreativno s riječima i brojevima. Neke se tipkovnice spajaju kabelom na USB priključak, a neke su bežične. Neki su dizajnirani da budu ergonomični, što znači da su namijenjeni držanju ruku u prirodnom položaju kako bi se smanjio rizik od ponavljajućih ozljeda uzrokovanih stresom, ali osim toga, svi su prilično slični.
  
• Miš i pokazivački uređaji slični mišu :Računalni miš je u širokoj upotrebi od 1980-ih za klikanje ili odabir stavki na vašem zaslonu. Pomaknete miš i pokazivač na zaslonu se pomakne; zatim klikneš gumbe da učiniš ono što želiš. Proizvođači nude niz alternativnih uređaja za obavljanje istog posla, od trackballa – vrste naopako okrenutog miša koji stoji miran dok palcem kotrljate kuglicu za pomicanje kursora – do touchpada većine prijenosnih računala i TrackPoint uređaja koji se koristi na ThinkPadovima.
  
• Digitalizacija tableta :Ovo su varijacije na temu dodirnog zaslona ili touchpada, ali su sofisticiranije. Dizajnirani za grafičare, omogućuju korisnicima crtanje, skiciranje ili slikanje na površini u visokim razlučivostima uz korištenje olovke.
  
• Upravljači za igre :Neke igre sasvim dobro rade s tipkovnicom i mišem, ali druge trebaju nešto bliže kontrolerima na igraćoj konzoli. Računalne verzije mogu biti bilo što, od konvencionalnih kontrolera s palcem do složenih joystickova. Ozbiljnim entuzijastima dostupni su specijalizirani upravljači kao što su upravljači i pedale za igre vožnje ili kontrolni jarmovi za simulatore letenja.
  
• Daljinski upravljači :Nekoliko računala orijentiranih na zabavu dolazi čak s daljinskim upravljačem u stilu TV-a, koji se može koristiti za reprodukciju DVD-a ili za odabir i strujanje medija putem programa kao što su Kodi ili Plex. Ovo je također ulazni uređaj, na svoj način.
  

Analogno-digitalni ulazni uređaji

Računala mogu raditi s bilo kojom vrstom informacija, ali one moraju biti u digitalnom formatu. Objekti i podražaji iz stvarnog svijeta gotovo su uvijek analogni, tako da čitava druga klasa ulaznih uređaja pretvara te analogne ulaze u nešto s čime računalo može raditi:

• Mikrofoni: Mikrofoni hvataju zvučne valove, koji su analogni, i pretvaraju ih u električne signale. Digitalno-analogni pretvarač ili DAC u samom mikrofonu ili na računalu pretvara ga dalje u digitalni format. Odatle bi računalo moglo snimiti zvuk ili ga proslijediti na internet ili vašu lokalnu mrežu u stvarnom vremenu.
  
• Skeneri: Skeneri rade uglavnom istu stvar, ali za vizualni unos. Ravni skeneri i skeneri koji se uvlače u listove to čine s tiskanim tekstom ili ispisanim slikama, pretvarajući sliku ili tekst u format podataka koji računalo može koristiti. Skeneri bar kodova koje vidite u trgovinama varijacija su iste ideje, čitaju kodove s proizvoda i pretvaraju ih u podatke.
  
• Fotoaparati: Web kamera vašeg računala ili bilo koja digitalna kamera koju koristite za prijenos slika na računalo – čak i vaš telefon – još je jedan ulazni uređaj. Snima digitalni prikaz analognog svijeta oko vas i zatim ga šalje na vaše računalo putem žične ili bežične veze.
  

Primjeri izlaznih uređaja

Popis izlaznih uređaja uvijek će biti kraći od popisa ulaznih uređaja. Računala mogu primati informacije na bezbroj načina, sve dok su digitalna, ali većina izlaznih uređaja razgovara s ljudima, a mi imamo samo pet osjetila. Okus i miris u ovom trenutku nisu faktor u glavnom računalstvu, tako da ostaje vid, sluh i dodirni kao način na koji nam računalo može poslati informacije natrag. Sve tri se koriste, na različite načine.

• Vaš monitor: Stariji monitori koristili su staklenu katodnu cijev ili CRT za prikaz slike. Modern screens are usually LED panels, although the OLED and AMOLED technologies used on phones may be scaled up for computer use at some point. They translate the computer's output into images and text that humans can process. They're judged by their brightness, their resolution in dots per inch, their contrast and accuracy of color, and by how quickly they can refresh.
  
• Speakers and headphones: Speakers and headphones provide audible feedback to let you know what the computer's doing. Early computers used sound mostly as a way to alert users to a problem, but modern machines are more versatile. They can play music or the audio portion of a movie. They can read audiobooks to you or convert text to speech, and they provide the soundtrack and sound effects for games. The best computer speaker systems rival full-scale home theater audio, with subwoofers and multispeaker setups for immersive sound.
  
• Printers and plotters: Printers and plotters take a computer's output and translate it into hard copy form, printing on paper, transparencies, labels and other media. Most modern printers use either laser technology, which is much the same as a photocopier's output, or inkjet technology, which uses fine drops of ink. Plotters are a specialized form of printer designed to create large-format engineering drawings and similarly oversized graphics.
  
• 3-D printers: A newer output device is the 3-D printer, which straddles the line between consumer/hobbyist devices and professional engineering tools. It turns the computer's output into physical objects, usually built up from plastic or resin that can be extruded while hot and then becomes rigid when it cools.
  
• Haptic feedback devices: You may not recognize this one by name, but you've probably used one. These are the small vibrating devices used by phones, tablets and other small devices to let you know when something happens. It might be the silent ring of your phone, or your Fitbit's hourly reminder to get up and move around. They're not used much in conventional computers but are worth mentioning because they're so common in the mobile computing world.
  

Some Devices Perform Input and Output

Although the line between input and output devices seems clear enough, that's not always the case in the real world. Some devices have both input and output functions , so they don't fit neatly into one category or the other. They can be divided into two broad groups:the ones that you use and the ones the computer uses.

Two-Way Consumer Devices

Most of the consumer devices you work with yourself combine an input function and an output function in one unified package. A few examples include:

• Audio headsets: Gamers and video chat-centric users are familiar with these convenient devices, which combine a microphone with an in-ear or over-ear headphone and often a band or clip to keep it in place. They're available in wired or wireless versions, so you can sit or pace while you use them. They're useful for video calls, voice recognition programs and networked gaming with your friends.
  
• Multifunction printers: These combine a conventional inkjet or laser printer with a scanner and sometimes other features as well. They're convenient for anyone with limited space or with only an occasional need to use the second function. It saves the space and cost of having separate devices for each job.
  
• Touch screens: Essential on a mobile device and handy on computers with touch-aware operating systems, touch screens display information like any other monitor but also accept input directly on-screen.
  
• MIDI interfaces and instruments: MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface , which is self-explanatory. With MIDI equipment, musicians can play their instruments and have the sound converted into digital data, as opposed to sound recordings, which can then be manipulated and played back through the MIDI device itself. In practice, they're mostly used as input devices, but they work both ways.
  

Computer I/O Devices

Other devices with two-way functionality are built into a computer, and they play an important role in how it works. These are referred to formally as i_nput/output devices,_ or I/O devices . The ones you can find on almost any computer include:

• Network interface cards: Most computers come out of the box with two kinds of networking built in, a wireless interface for Wi-Fi and a wired connection you can use to connect directly to your router or other devices. Older computers often had a modem built in as well, which is also an I/O device, but now, you usually connect your whole home network to a single external modem and router.
  
• Sound cards: Sound cards were an optional extra decades ago, but they're routinely built into modern computers. If your computer has a headphone jack and microphone jack, it has a sound card built in. The mic jack is an input, and the headphone jack is an output; therefore they're I/O devices. Demanding users can add a higher-end sound card to a desktop or tower through one of its PCIe expansion cards referred to as the computer's I/O bus.
  
• Storage devices: The drives you use in your computer are another set of I/O devices. They store information from your computer and load information to your computer constantly while it's in use. These include the hard drive, a DVD-ROM drive if you have one, and any USB thumb drives or memory cards you use with the computer.

Specialized Input and Output Devices

The number of specialized input and output devices is nearly limitless because there are so many niche markets, but they're all fairly similar to the main categories listed here. You could think of the tiny fiber-optic camera a surgeon threads through your veins as a refined webcam, for example, and the big CNC machine in a factory is similar in function to a 3-D printer.

Others, such as the assistive input and output devices designed for users with special needs, show a real genius at combining technologies in useful ways. Visually impaired computer users might rely on a screen reader that converts text to speech or Braille on a specialized touchable pad. Voice recognition software turns a microphone into an alternative keyboard. Those who can't use their hands can use sip-and-puff controls to navigate the screen or specialized devices that detect head movement or brain waves. For those with some mobility, joysticks, trackballs, and wands and sticks using various wireless technologies can take the place of a conventional mouse or touchpad.