peripheral

{{Short description|Auxiliary input/output device for a computer}}

{{about|a type of hardware device|other uses|Periphery (disambiguation){{!}}Periphery}}

{{redirect|Computer peripherals|the American printer manufacturer|Computer Peripherals}}

{{One source|date=April 2023}}

A peripheral device, or simply peripheral, is an auxiliary hardware device that a computer uses to transfer information externally.{{cite book|last=Laplante|first=Philip A.

|title=Dictionary of Computer Science, Engineering and Technology

|date=2000|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=0-8493-2691-5|page=366

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U1M3clUwCfEC|access-date=January 16, 2018

|url-status=live

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903145316/https://books.google.com/books?id=U1M3clUwCfEC&pg=PA366

|archive-date=September 3, 2016}} A peripheral is a hardware component that is accessible to and controlled by a computer but is not a core component of the computer.

A peripheral can be categorized based on the direction in which information flows relative to the computer:

• The computer receives data from an input device; examples: mouse, keyboard, scanner, game controller, microphone and webcam

• The computer sends data to an output device; examples: monitor, printer, headphones, and speakers

• The computer sends and receives data via an input/output device; examples: storage device (such as disk drive, solid-state drive, USB flash drive, memory card and tape drive), modem, router, gateway and network adapter

Many modern electronic devices, such as Internet-enabled digital watches, video game consoles, smartphones, and tablet computers, have interfaces for use as a peripheral.