Peripheral device

Peripheral device

In computer hardware, a peripheral device is any device attached to a computer in order to expand its functionality (basically input and output devices together are known as peripherals). Some of the more common peripheral devices are printers, scanners, disk drives, tape drives, microphones, speakers, and cameras. Peripheral devices can also include other computers on a network system. A device can also refer to a non-physical item, such as a pseudo terminal, a RAM drive, or a network adapter.

Before the advent of the personal computer, any connected device added to the three base components — the motherboard, CPU and working memory (RAM, ROM, or core) — was considered to be a peripheral device.

The personal computer has expanded the sense of what devices are needed on a base system, and keyboards, monitors, and mice are no longer generally considered to be peripheral devices.


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  • Peripheral Device —   [engl.], Peripheriegerät …   Universal-Lexikon

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  • peripheral device — /pəˈrɪfərəl dəvaɪs/ (say puh rifuhruhl duhvuys) noun a device attached to a computer which transfers information to or from the computer, as a printer, scanner, keyboard, etc. Also, peripheral, peripheral unit …  

  • Peripheral Device —   A computer device which are capable of some level of independent functioning when not connected to the computer system. An example of a peripheral is an input device which can store data temporarily before transmitting it to the computer system …   International financial encyclopaedia

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  • peripheral device — equipment that is connected to a computer (printer, keyboard, etc.) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • SCSI Peripheral Device Type — A SCSI Peripheral Device Type is a way of describing what capabilities are provided by a SCSI device. It is a five bit field which can be found in the Standard Inquiry Data provided in response to an Inquiry Command. This field was defined in the …   Wikipedia

  • peripheral device or equipment —    Equipment that works in conjunction with a computer or processor and provides the system with outside communication …   IT glossary of terms, acronyms and abbreviations

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