Input Devices of A Computer

Input devices
Keyboard
Keyboard is the most common and very popular input device which helps in
inputting data to the computer. The layout of the keyboard is like that of
traditional typewriter, although there are some additional keys provided for
performing additional functions.
Keyboards are of two sizes 84 keys or 101/102 keys, but now keyboards
with 104 keys or 108 keys are also available for Windows and Internet.
The keys on the keyboard are as follows:
Sr.No Keys Description
1 Typing Keys These keys include the letter keys (A-Z) and digit
keys (0-9) which generally give same layout as
that of typewriters.
2 Numeric Keypad It is used to enter numeric data or cursor

movement. Generally, it consists of a set of 17
keys that are laid out in the same configuration
used by most adding machines and calculators.
3 Function Keys The twelve function keys are present on the

keyboard which are arranged in a row at the top of
the keyboard. Each function key has unique
meaning and is used for some specific purpose.
4 Control keys These keys provide cursor and screen control. It

includes four directional arrow keys. Control keys
also include Home, End, Insert, Delete, Page Up,
Page Down, Control(Ctrl), Alternate(Alt),
Escape(Esc).
5 Special Purpose Keyboard also contains some special purpose keys

Keys such as Enter, Shift, Caps Lock, Num Lock, Space
bar, Tab, and Print Screen.
Mouse
Mouse is most popular pointing device. It is a very famous cursor-control
device having a small palm size box with a round ball at its base which
senses the movement of mouse and sends corresponding signals to CPU
when the mouse buttons are pressed.
Generally it has two buttons called left and right button and a wheel is
present between the buttons. Mouse can be used to control the position of
cursor on screen, but it cannot be used to enter text into the computer.
Advantages
 Easy to use
 Not very expensive
 Moves the cursor faster than the arrow keys of keyboard.

Joystick
Joystick is also a pointing device which is used to move cursor position on a
monitor screen. It is a stick having a spherical ball at its both lower and
upper ends. The lower spherical ball moves in a socket. The joystick can be
moved in all four directions.
The function of joystick is similar to that of a mouse. It is mainly used in

Computer Aided Designing(CAD) and playing computer games.
Light Pen
Light pen is a pointing device which is similar to a pen. It is used to select a
displayed menu item or draw pictures on the monitor screen. It consists of
a photocell and an optical system placed in a small tube. When the tip of a
light pen is moved over the monitor screen and pen button is pressed, its
photocell sensing element detects the screen location and sends the
corresponding signal to the CPU.
Track Ball
Track ball is an input device that is mostly used in notebook or laptop
computer, instead of a mouse. This is a ball which is half inserted and by
moving fingers on ball, pointer can be moved. Since the whole device is not
moved, a track ball requires less space than a mouse. A track ball comes in
various shapes like a ball, a button and a square.
Scanner
Scanner is an input device which works more like a photocopy machine. It
is used when some information is available on a paper and it is to be
transferred to the hard disc of the computer for further manipulation.
Scanner captures images from the source which are then converted into the
digital form that can be stored on the disc. These images can be edited
before they are printed.
Digitizer
Digitizer is an input device which converts analog information into digital
form. Digitizer can convert a signal from the television or camera into a
series of numbers that could be stored in a computer. They can be used by
the computer to create a picture of whatever the camera had been pointed
at. Digitizer is also known as Tablet or Graphics Tablet because it converts
graphics and pictorial data into binary inputs. A graphic tablet as digitizer is
used for doing fine works of drawing and image manipulation applications.
Microphone
Microphone is an input device to input sound that is then stored in digital
form. The microphone is used for various applications like adding sound to a
multimedia presentation or for mixing music.
Magnetic Ink Card Reader(MICR)

MICR input device is generally used in banks because of a large number of
cheques to be processed every day. The bank's code number and cheque
number are printed on the cheques with a special type of ink that contains
particles of magnetic material that are machine readable. This reading
process is called Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR). The main
advantages of MICR is that it is fast and less error prone.
Optical Character Reader(OCR)

OCR is an input device used to read a printed text. OCR scans text optically
character by character, converts them into a machine readable code and
stores the text on the system memory.
Bar Code Readers
Bar Code Reader is a device used for reading bar coded data (data in form
of light and dark lines). Bar coded data is generally used in labelling goods,
numbering the books etc. It may be a hand held scanner or may be
embedded in a stationary scanner. Bar Code Reader scans a bar code
image, converts it into an alphanumeric value which is then fed to the
computer to which bar code reader is connected.
Optical Mark Reader(OMR)

OMR is a special type of optical scanner used to recognize the type of mark
made by pen or pencil. It is used where one out of a few alternatives is to
be selected and marked. It is specially used for checking the answer sheets
of examinations having multiple choice questions.

Input Devices of A Computer

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Input Devices of A Computer

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Input devices

The keys on the keyboard are as follows:

Sr.No Keys Description

2 Numeric Keypad It is used to enter numeric data or cursor

3 Function Keys The twelve function keys are present on the

4 Control keys These keys provide cursor and screen control. It

5 Special Purpose Keyboard also contains some special purpose keys

 Not very expensive

 Moves the cursor faster than the arrow keys of keyboard.

The function of joystick is similar to that of a mouse. It is mainly used in

Magnetic Ink Card Reader(MICR)

Optical Character Reader(OCR)

Optical Mark Reader(OMR)

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