input/output

Also known as I/O, IO, I/O-unit, input-output relationship, excitation-response relation

In computing, input/output (I/O, i/o, or informally io or IO) is the communication between an information processing system, such as a computer, and the outside world, such as another computer system, peripherals, or a human operator. Inputs are the signals or data received by the system and outputs are the signals or data sent from it. The term can also be used as part of an action; to "perform I/O" is to perform an input or output operation.

AI overview

Input/output (I/O) refers to how computers communicate with the outside world—receiving data and signals from external sources like other computers, devices, or people, and sending data and signals back out. It matters because without I/O, computers would have no way to interact with users or other systems, making them essentially isolated and unusable.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Image: CPT Hardware-InputOutput.svg

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Stack Exchange tag: stackoverflow.com/tags/io
Commons category: Input/output devices

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Article

8 sections

Contents

Interface
Higher-level implementation
Channel I/O
Port-mapped I/O
Direct memory access
See also
References
External links

'''''' are the pieces of hardware used by a human (or other system) to communicate with a computer. For instance, a keyboard or computer mouse is an input device for a computer, while monitors and printers are output devices. Devices for communication between computers, such as modems and network cards, typically perform both input and output operations. Any interaction with the system by an interactor is an input and the reaction the system responds is called the output.