Introduction to Computer Systems
Review these notes. For maximum benefit, go through these notes interactively, thinking about and answering the questions at the bottom of each page. These notes are an experiment in applying the "programmed learning" method to web-based computer aided instruction. The subject is Java Programming for beginning programmers. The content is intended to start beginning programmers out on the track to professional-level programming and reinforce learning by providing abundant feedback. Java is a programming language that is used often in professional practice.
I/O
Answer:
Data transfers from the network are much slower than from main memory and even slower than from hard disk.
I/O
Input/output devices are usually called I/O devices. They are directly connected to an electronic module attached to the motherboard called a device controller. For example, the speakers of a multimedia computer system are directly connected to a device controller called an audio card, which in turn is plugged into a bus on the motherboard.
With many recent computers, the functions of a device controller are integrated with the motherboard. Some motherboards have audio, graphics, and network controllers built in.
Often secondary memory devices like the hard disk are called I/O devices (because they move data in and out of main memory). What counts as an I/O device depends on context. To a user, an I/O device is something outside of the computer case. To a programmer, anything outside of the processor and main memory is an I/O device. To an engineer working on the design of a processor everything outside of the processor is an I/O device.
Question 9:
Is a game controller an input device or an output device?