Computer terminal
computer input/output device; an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that is used for entering data into, and displaying data from, a computer or a computing system update programming
A computer terminal or data terminal is a device made up of a display unit and a keyboard. It is used to access a computer system in order to run programs and manage computer files. Terminals output only characters, not graphics.
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/VT420_with_German_keyboard.jpg/220px-VT420_with_German_keyboard.jpg)
They were developed from teletypewriters. At that time, computers were still very bulky and did not yet have a computer monitor or keyboard on its own.
Some technical terms are:
- terminal identity = a unique code to provide identification and authorization of a user.
- terminal interface = a text-based user interface to access computers.
- terminal emulator = a software like PuTTY that emulates a physical terminal. They are still used today to access computers that do not have a graphical user interface. Such as, for example, all supercomputers and most cloud computers.
- terminal adapter = a modem that connects a computer to a telephone line. They are not used anymore.