Computer terminal

A computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that can be used for entering data into, and transcribing[1] data from, a computer or a computing system.[2] The teletype was an example of an early-day hard-copy terminal[3] and predated the use of a computer screen by decades.

Early terminals were inexpensive devices but very slow compared to punched cards or paper tape for input, yet as the technology improved and video displays were introduced, terminals pushed these older forms of interaction from the industry. A related development was time-sharing systems, which evolved in parallel and made up for any inefficiencies in the user's typing ability with the ability to support multiple users on the same machine, each at their own terminal or terminals.

The function of a terminal is typically confined to transcription and input of data; a device with significant local, programmable data-processing capability may be called a "smart terminal" or fat client. A terminal that depends on the host computer for its processing power is called a "dumb terminal"[4] or a thin client.[5][6] A personal computer can run terminal emulator software that replicates functions of a real-world terminal, sometimes allowing concurrent use of local programs and access to a distant terminal host system, either over a direct serial connection or over a network using, e.g., SSH.