Keyboard

A keyboard is a hardware device consisting of a number of mechanical buttons (keys) which the user presses to input characters to a computer.

Description

Keyboards vary in the keys they have, most have keys to generate the ASCII character set as well as various function keys and special purpose keys, e.g. control, power, or volume control keys.

History

Keyboards were originally part of computer terminals which were separate peripheral devices that performed both input and output by communicating with a mainframe computer via a serial line. Today, a keyboard is more likely to be connected more directly to a personal computer, allowing its hardware to scan it and detect which key or keys are being pressed. Pressing a key sends a low-level key code to the keyboard input driver routine which translates this to one or more characters or special actions.

External links

• Keyboard at Wikipedia

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This page uses GFDL licensed content from the Free On-line Dictionary of Computing.