In the Storage Family, we learned how information is stored.

In the Task Execution Family, we learned how work gets completed.

But one important question still remains:

How does information travel between humans and computers?

When you:

Type a message

Search on Google

Play a song

Check the weather

Ask ChatGPT a question

You are actually having a conversation with a computer.

Just like human conversations have speaking and listening, computers also have their own communication process.

This communication world is called the Input / Output Family.

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Think about a simple conversation.

Laila asks:

“What is today’s weather?”

Majnu listens.

Majnu thinks.

Majnu answers.

Every conversation follows:

Question → Processing → Answer

Computers follow exactly the same pattern.

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Input

Input is information sent to the computer.

Input answers:

What information is entering the system?

Examples:

Keyboard

Mouse

Microphone

Camera

Touch Screen

User Input

Without Input, the computer has nothing to work on.

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Output

Output is information returned by the computer.

Output answers:

What information is leaving the system?

Examples:

Display

Printer

Speaker

Reports

Messages

Notifications

Output is the computer’s reply.

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User Input

User Input is the specific information entered by a person.

Examples:

Typing a Name

Searching a Topic

Writing an Email

Entering a Password

Asking for Weather

Example:

“What is today’s weather?”

This question becomes User Input.

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Input Device

Input Devices are tools used to send information to the computer.

Examples:

Keyboard

Mouse

Microphone

Camera

Touch Screen

Scanner

Think of them as the computer’s ears.

They help the computer receive information.

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Processing

Processing is the computer’s thinking phase.

After receiving input, the computer:

Accepts information

Analyzes information

Searches data

Calculates results

Prepares an answer

This stage is invisible to the user but is the most important part of communication.

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Display

Display is the most common output method.

Examples:

Mobile Screen

Laptop Screen

Monitor

Smart TV

When the weather answer appears on the screen, Display is performing the output job.

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Print

Print creates a physical copy of information.

Examples:

Reports

Bills

Tickets

Documents

Instead of showing output on screen, the computer sends output to paper.

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Response

Response is the final answer returned to the user.

Examples:

Weather Information

Bank Balance

Email Confirmation

Order Status

ChatGPT Answer

The response is the outcome of the entire communication process.

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Real-World Story Mapping

Laila Wants To Know Today’s Weather

Laila asks a question

User Input

Laila types the question

Input

Keyboard receives it

Input Device

Computer thinks

Processing

Weather information prepared

Output

Screen shows answer

Display

Laila reads answer

Response

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Input Team vs Output Team

Input Team (Information Entering)

Keyboard

Mouse

Microphone

Camera

User Input

Purpose:

Send information into the computer

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Output Team (Information Leaving)

Display

Printer

Speaker

Response

Reports

Purpose:

Return information to the user

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Communication Formula

Every computer conversation follows:

User

Input

Processing

Output

Result

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Human World vs Programming World

Human World

Ask

Answer

Speak

Listen

Question

Response

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Programming World

Input

Processing

Output

Programming is simply structured communication.