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Input/Output Ports (I/O)
There are some ports on the PC that are used to move data out of as well as back into the PC. They are called I/O ports.
Serial Port - The serial port is an I/O port. It connects to external devices that need to communicate with the PC. Scanners and digital cameras are examples of devices that can connect to the serial port. It is called the serial port because only one bit of information passes across it during each transfer.
Parallel Port - The parallel port is also an I/O port that is almost always used for output. More often than not a printer connected to it. It's called a parallel port because it moves a byte (8 bits) of data in parallel during each data transfer.
Universal Serial Bus - The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a newer higher speed serial I/O port that will eventually replace the serial and parallel ports. It has been appearing in PCs for a relatively short time. Many printers and other external devices are already equipped with USB ports. The USB port on a PC can connect directly to any device with a USB port. It can also connect to a USB Controller which in turn can connect to many devices that have USB ports.
There are some ports on the PC that are used to move data out of as well as back into the PC. They are called I/O ports.
Serial Port - The serial port is an I/O port. It connects to external devices that need to communicate with the PC. Scanners and digital cameras are examples of devices that can connect to the serial port. It is called the serial port because only one bit of information passes across it during each transfer.
Parallel Port - The parallel port is also an I/O port that is almost always used for output. More often than not a printer connected to it. It's called a parallel port because it moves a byte (8 bits) of data in parallel during each data transfer.
Universal Serial Bus - The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a newer higher speed serial I/O port that will eventually replace the serial and parallel ports. It has been appearing in PCs for a relatively short time. Many printers and other external devices are already equipped with USB ports. The USB port on a PC can connect directly to any device with a USB port. It can also connect to a USB Controller which in turn can connect to many devices that have USB ports.