What are the essential I/O devices for microcomputers in general?

Generally, the indispensable I/O devices for microcomputers are "keyboard" and "monitor". The keyboard is an instruction and data input device used to operate computer equipment. It is the most commonly used and important input device. A monitor is a display tool that displays certain electronic files on the screen through a specific transmission device. It is the most important output device.

The operating environment of this tutorial: Windows 7 system, Dell G3 computer.

Generally, the essential I/O devices for microcomputers are keyboard and monitor.

Keyboard

The keyboard is an instruction and data input device used to operate computer equipment. It also refers to a group of devices that operate a machine or equipment through system arrangements. Function keys (such as typewriters, computer keyboards). The keyboard is also a part of the keyboard instrument. It can also refer to an instrument that uses a keyboard, such as a piano, a digital piano or an electronic keyboard. The keyboard is helpful for practicing typing.

The keyboard is the most commonly used and important input device. English letters, Chinese characters, numbers, punctuation marks, etc. can be input into the computer through the keyboard, thereby issuing commands and inputting data to the computer. There are also keyboards with various shortcut keys. As time goes by, independent products with various shortcut functions gradually appear on the market and are sold separately, with dedicated drivers and setting software, and personalized operations can also be realized on compatible machines.

Display

The display (display, screen) is a display tool that displays certain electronic files on the screen through a specific transmission device. It is the most important output device. It can be divided into cathode ray tube display (CRT), plasma display PDP, and liquid crystal display LCD.

The monitor is the computer screen (Computer Screen / Display). The monitor receives signals from the computer and forms an image, acting like a television receiver. Some computer screens use LCD displays. Computer screens are also called visual displays.

Extended knowledge:

I/O devices are input/output devices, which refer to hardware that can transmit data to a computer.

Modern computer systems are equipped with a large number of peripheral devices, namely I/O devices. According to their different working methods, they are usually classified as follows:

(1) Character device (character device), also called human-computer interaction device. Users communicate with computer systems through these devices. Most of them send and receive data in character units, and the data communication speed is relatively slow. For example, character terminals with integrated keyboards and monitors, printers, scanners, including mice, etc., as well as early card and paper tape input and output machines. Graphics monitors containing graphics cards are relatively fast and can be used to display complex graphics in image processing.

(2) Block device, also called external memory, allows users to achieve long-term storage of programs and data through these devices. Compared with character devices, they are transmitted in blocks, such as disks, tapes, and optical disks. Common block sizes are between 512 and 32768B.

(3) Network communication equipment. Such devices mainly include network cards, modems, etc., which are mainly used for communication with remote devices. The transfer speed of this type of device is higher than character devices but lower than external memory.

This classification method is not complete, and some equipment is not included. For example, the clock is neither accessed on a block or character basis, but what it does is generate interrupts at predetermined intervals. But this classification is sufficient for the operating system to construct software that handles I/O devices, making them independent of specific devices.

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