What is a peripheral?
In computer science, peripheral is the generic denomination to designate the device or auxiliary and independent device connected to the central processing unit of a computer.
Peripherals are the units or hardware devices through which the computer communicates with the outside, and also the systems that store or store the information, serving as auxiliary memory of the main memory.1
It is considered peripheral to the set of devices that, without belonging to the fundamental nucleus of the computer, formed by the central processing unit (CPU) and the central memory, allow input / output operations (I / O) complementary to the data process that performs the CPU. These three basic units in a computer, CPU, central memory and the subsystem of I / O, are communicated with each other by three buses or communication channels:
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Addresses, to select the address of the data or the peripheral to which you want to access.
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Control, basically to select the operation to perform on the data (mainly reading, writing or modification).
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Data, where the data circulate.
Types of Peripherals
Input Peripherals
They are those that allow entering external data to the computer for further processing by the CPU. These data can come from different sources, the main one being a human being. The most common input peripherals are:
Output Peripherals
The output peripherals receive the information processed by the CPU and reproduce it, so that it is perceptible by the user.
I / O peripherals
The input / output peripherals are those used by the computer to send and receive information. Its function is to store or save, permanently or virtually, everything we do with the computer so that it can be used by users or other systems.
Storage Peripherals
Devices and storage media store the data used by the CPU once they have been deleted from main memory, because the memory is erased each time the computer is turned off. They can be internal or portable, such as a hard drive, or removable, such as a CD or DVD.
Communication Peripherals
Its function is to allow or facilitate the interaction between two or more computers, or between a computer and another peripheral external to the computer.