Input & Output

Exam code: 2210

Written by: Ashika|Reviewed by: Caroline Carroll|Updated 2 July 2026

An input is a value that is read from an input device and then processed by a computer program
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
Without inputs, programs are not useful as they can't interact with the outside world and always produce the same result
In programming the keyboard is considered the standard for user input
If the command 'INPUT' is executed, a program will wait for the user to type a sequence of characters
In other programming languages different command words can be used

Pseudocode (INPUT <identifier>)	Python
`INPUT Name` `IF Name ← "James" OR Name ← "Rob" THEN...`	`name=input("Enter your name: ")` `if name == "James" or name == "Rob":`

Pseudocode (INPUT <identifier>)

Python

INPUT Name

IF Name ← "James" OR Name ← "Rob" THEN...

name=input("Enter your name: ")

if name == "James" or name == "Rob":

An output is a value sent to an output device from a computer program
Typical output devices include:
- Monitor - Displaying text, images or graphics
- Speaker - Playing audio
- Printer - Creating physical copies of documents or images
In programming the monitor is considered the standard for user output
If the command 'OUTPUT' is executed, a program will output to the screen
In other programming languages different command words can be used

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)`

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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