What are inputs and outputs?

Computers and digital devices work by storing and processing information.

Processing means to work with or organise and computers use a computer processor or CPU to do this.

The computer can only process information that is has been given, or that it has collected.This information is called input. It has been put into the computer system.

When the computer has processed the information and carried out the task it sends it back out.

We call this information output.

Computers can only work with information that has been converted into a code made up of numbers.

This conversion is called digitisation.

Information that has been converted or digitised into numbers is called digital information or digital data.

If information has been created by a digital device like a digital camera it is already digitised.

If information is not digital, like a printed photo, it needs to be digitised using a scanner or a digital camera.

There are many different ways we can input data into a computer system.

The devices we use are called input devices and include keyboards, touch screens, microphones, movement sensors and webcams.

Some examples of input include:

• Words written using a keyboard
• Screen clicks using a touch screen
• Live video from a webcam
• Sound from someone using a microphone for voice control
• Movement in front of a motion sensor in an automatic door

When a computer has finished processing input, it is sent back out of the computer ready to be used.

Output can be sent to lots of different types of devices, including screens, printers, speakers and headphones. It can also be sent to lights or motors to make things light up or move.

Some examples of output include:

• Sound coming from a mobile phone speaker
• Text appearing on a laptop screen or computer monitor
• Pictures printed from a printer
• Video shown on a tablet screen
• Movement from a motor when an automatic door opens

Some input devices like screens are built into a computing device.

Other devices like printers are connected with cables using a special connection socket called a port.

Some input devices can connect to a computer system using wireless connection called wi-fi.

Some devices are both input and output devices.

A tablet touch screen can act as an input device by sending information into the tablet’s computer processor as you press different areas of the screen.

It can then display an output like an image or a video on the screen, or play an output sound through speakers or headphones.

Find out more about input and output devices by clicking on this interactive graphic.