Input & Output (Cambridge International IGCSE Computer Science)
Spec point —
8.1.3· 3 Understand and use input and output
Input & Output
What is an input?
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An input is a value that is read from an input device and then processed by a computer program
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Typical input devices include:
- Keyboards- Typing text
- Mice- Selecting item, clicking buttons
- Sensors- Reading data from sensors such as temperature, pressure or motion
- **Microphone **- Capturing audio, speech recognition
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Without inputs, programs are** not useful as they can't interact with the outside world** and always produce the same result
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In programming the keyboard is considered the standard for user input
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If the command 'INPUT' is executed, a program will wait for the user to type a sequence of characters
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In other programming languages different command words can be used
Examples
| Pseudocode (INPUT ) | Python |
|---|---|
INPUT Name IF Name ← "James" OR Name ← "Rob" THEN... | name=input("Enter your name: ")if name == "James" or name == "Rob": |
What is an output?
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An output is a value sent to an output device from a computer program
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Typical output devices include:
- Monitor- Displaying text, images or graphics
- Speaker- Playing audio
- Printer- Creating physical copies of documents or images
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In programming the monitor is considered the standard for user output
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If the command 'OUTPUT' is executed, a program will output to the screen
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In other programming languages different command words can be used
Examples
| Pseudocode (OUTPUT <identifier(s)>) | Python |
|---|---|
INPUT Name IF Name ← "James" OR Name ← "Rob" THEN OUTPUT "Great names!" | name=input("Enter your name: ")if name == "James" or name == "Rob": print("Great names!") |
INPUT Name IF Name ← "James" OR Name ← "Rob" THEN OUTPUT "Love the name ", Name | name=input("Enter your name: ")if name == "James" or name == "Rob": print("Love the name "+name) |
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