Text 6. Input-Output Environment

Data and instructions must enter the data processing system, and information must leave it. These operations are performed by input and output (I/O) units that link the computer to its external environment.

The I/O environment may be human-related or human-in­dependent. A remote banking terminal is an example of a hu­man- related input environment, and printer is an example of a device that produces output in a human-readable format. An example of a human-independent input environment is a de­vice that measures traffic flow. A reel of magnetic tape upon which the collected data are stored in binary format is an ex­ample of a human-independent output.

Input-Output Interfaces, Data enter input units in forms that depend upon the particular device used. For example, data are entered from a keyboard in a manner similar to typing, and this differs from the way that data are entered by a bar-code scan­ner. However, regardless of the forms in which they receive their inputs, all input devices must provide a computer with data that are transformed into the binary codes that the primary memo­ry of the computer is designed to accept. This transformation is accomplished by units called I/O interfaces. Input interfaces are designed to match the unique physical or electrical character­istics of input devices to the requirements of the computer sys­tem. Similarly, when output is available, output interfaces must be designed to reverse the process and to adapt the output to the external environment. These I/O interfaces are also called channels or input-output processors*(IOP).

The major differences between devices are the media that they use and the speed with which they are able to transfer data to or from primary storage.

Input-Output Device Speed. Input-output devices can be clas­sified as high-speed, medium-speed, and low-speed. The devic­es are grouped according to their speed. It should be noted that the high-speed devices are entirely electronic in their operation or magnetic media that can be moved at high speed. Those high­speed devices are both input and output devices and are used as secondary storage. The low-speed devices are those with com­plex mechanical motion or operate at the speed of a human operator. The medium-speed devices are those that fall be­tween — they tend to have mechanical moving parts which are more complex than the high-speed devices but not as complex as the low-speed.

High-speed devices: magnetic disk; magnetic tape.

Medium-speed devices: card readers; line printers; page print­ers; computer output microfilms; magnetic diskette; optical character readers; optical mark readers; visual displays.

Low-speed devices: bar-code readers; character printers; dig­itizers; keyboard input devices; plotters; voice recognition and response units.

 

Exercise 1. Find in the text the English equivalents.

Среда, устройств ввода-вывода; система обработки ин­формации; внешняя среда; связан с человеком; независим от человека; удаленный банковский терминал; измерять поток данных; бобина с магнитной лентой; хранить со­бранную информацию; двоичный формат; интерфейс вво­да-вывода; вводить с клавиатуры; устройство считывания штрих-кода; не смотря на; преобразовать в двоичный код; сопоставлять параметры; подобным образом; интерфейс вывода; изменить процесс в обратном направлении; на­строить устройство ввода-вывода к внешней среде; глав­ное отличие; основная память; вторичная память; низко­скоростные устройства; в соответствии.

Exercise 2. Translate the following word combinations.

Environment: application environment; communication en­vironment; execution environment; external environment; hard­ware environment; interface invironment; management envi­ronment; multimedia environment; network environment; processing environment; security environment; software envi­ronment; user environment.

Interface: channel interface; common interface; data inter­face; database interface; display interface; external interface; flexible interface; floppy-disk interface; general-purpose inter­face; hardware interface; low-level interface.

Scanner: bar code scanner; black-and-white scanner; color scanner; desktop scanner; hand scanner; laser scanner; manual scanner; optical scanner; visual scanner.

Terminal: batch terminal; desktop terminal; display terminal; printer terminal; remote terminal; security terminal; logical terminal; text terminal.

Exercise 3. Answer the questions on the text.

1. What is the purpose of input and output devices?

2. What types of input-output devices do you know?

3. Why are data transformed into a binary code while entering the input device?

4. Give an example of a human independent output.

5. What is an I/O interface?

6. What are the major differences between the various I/O devices?

7. What types of I/O devices tend to be high-speed devices?

8. What types of devices tend to be low- speed devices?

 

Before reading text 7, learn the new glossary.

keyboard — клавиатура

key — клавиша; кнопка; переключатель; ключевой, основной; главный; переключать; набирать на кла­виатуре

manipulator — манипулятор; блок обра­ботки

trackball — трекбол

touch panel — сенсорная панель

graphic plotting tables — графичес­кие планшеты

sound card — звуковая карта (плата)

enable — разрешать; позволять; допускать; де­лать возможным

operating mode — режим работы

press a button — нажать на кнопку

keep buttons depressed — удерживать кнопки в нажатом состоянии

double-click — двойное нажатие

erase images — удалить, стереть изобра­жение (объект)

roller — ролик; валик

track — следить; прослеживать; проходить; след; траек­тория; путь; дорожка; соединение

by means of — посредством

permitting capacity — разрешающая способность

 

Text 7. Input Devices

There are several devices used for inputting information into the computer: a keyboard, some coordinate input devices, such as manipulators, a mouse, a track ball), touch panels and graphical plotting tables, scanners, digital cameras, TV tuners, sound cards etc.

When personal computers first became popular, the most common device used to transfer information from the user to the computer was the keyboard. It enables inputting numerical and text data. A standard keyboard has 104 keys and three more ones informing about the operating mode of light indicators in the upper right corner.

Later when the more advanced graphics became to develop, user found that a keyboard did not provide the design capabili­ties of graphics and text representation on the display. There appeared manipulators, a mouse and a track ball, that are usu­ally used while operating with graphical interface. Each software program uses these buttons differently.

The mouse is an optic-mechanical input device. The mouse has three or two buttons which control the cursor movement across the screen. The mouse provides the cursor control thus simplifying user's orientation on the display. The mouse's pri­mary functions are to help the user draw, point and select im­ages on his computer display by moving the mouse across the screen.

In general software programs require to press one or more buttons, sometimes keeping them depressed or double-click them to issue changes in commands and to draw or to erase images. When you move the mouse across a flat surface, the ball located on the bottom side of the mouse turns two rollers. One is tracking the mouse's vertical movements, the other is track­ing horizontal movements. The rotating ball glides easily, giv­ing the user good control over the textual and graphical images.

In portable computers touch panels or touch pads are used instead of manipulators. Moving a finger along the surface of the touch pad is transformed into the cursor movement across the screen.

Graphical plotting tables (plotters) find application in draw­ing and inputtig manuscript texts. You can draw, add notes and signs to electronic documents by means of a special pen. The quality of graphical plotting tables is characterized by permit­ting capacity, that is the number of lines per inch, and their ca­pability to respond to the force of pen pressing.

Scanner is used for optical inputting of images (photographies, pictures, slides) and texts and converting them into the computer form.

Digital videocameras have been spread recently. They enable getting videoimages and photographs directly in digital comput­er format. Digital cameras give possibility to get high quality photos.

Sound cards produce sound conversion from analog to digi­tal form. They are able to synthesize sounds. Special game-ports and joysticks are widely used in computer games.

Exercise 1. Find in the text the English for:

Введение информации; координатные устройства вво­да; манипуляторы; мышь; трекбол; сенсорная панель; гра­фические планшеты; цифровые камеры; сканеры; ТВ тю­неры; стандартная клавиатура; числовая и текстовая информация; световые индикаторы; клавиши; режим ра­боты; презентация текста на мониторе; графический ин­терфейс; программные средства; оптико-механическое " устройство ввода; управлять движением курсора; упрощать ориентацию пользователя на экране; указывать и выбирать изображения; удерживать кнопки в нажатом состоянии; двойное нажатие; стирать объекты; ровная поверхность; вращать ролики; следить за вертикальным движением; легко скользить; портативный компьютер; рукописный текст; посредством; разрешающая способность

Exercise 2. Translate into Russian.

То accomplish: accomplished; unaccomplished; accomplish­ment.

To adapt, adaptable; unadaptable; adaptability; unadaptabil-ity; adaptation; adapter.

To digitize: digit; digital; digitization; digitizer.

To erase: erasable; erasability; eraser; erasing; erasure.

To match: matcher; matching.

To permit: permitted; permissible; permissibility; permission.

To print: printable; printed; printer; printing;

To scan: scanning; scanner.

To recognize: recognition; recognizer; recognizable; unrec­ognizable.

To respond: response; responsible; irresponsible; responsibil­ity; irresponsibility.

To reverse: reversed; reversible; irreversible; reversion; revers­ibility.

To transform: transformer; transformation; transformation­al; transformative

Exercise 3. Answer the questions on the text.

1. What devices are used for inputting information into the computer?

2. What was the most common device in early per­sonal computers?

3. What is the function of a keyboard?

4. Why do many users prefer manipulators to keyboard?

5. How does the mouse operate?

6. What is its function?

7. What role does the ball on the bottom of the mouse play?

8. What is used in portable computers instead of manipulators?

9. What is the touch pad's principle of operation?

10. Where do graphical plot­ting tables find application?

 

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