Peripheral

A peripheral is a device attached to a host computer but not part of it, and is more or less dependent on the host. It expands the host's capabilities, but does not form part of the core computer architecture.

Examples are computer printers, image scanners, tape drives, microphones, loudspeakers, webcams, and digital cameras.

Overview

Whether something is a peripheral or part of a computer is not always clearly demarcated. A video capture card inside a computer case is not part of the core computer but is contained in the case. However, whether something can be considered a peripheral or not is a trivial matter of nomenclature, and is not a significant issue.

Common peripherals

• Storage
• Input
  • Input device
• Output
  • Output device
  • Display device
  • Graphical output device
  • Computer display

See also

• Computer hardware
• Controller
• Expansion card

References

External links

• The Wiktionary definition of peripheral