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What Is a User Input Terminal? Definition and Examples

A user input terminal is an endpoint through which a person sends data or commands. It describes a function, not a required device such as a keyboard.

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A user input terminal is an endpoint through which a person sends data or commands to a computer or another system. The term describes the endpoint’s function, not a required shape: it may accept input only, or be part of a user terminal that also presents output.

What does “user input terminal” mean?

In the broad technical sense, an input terminal is a point where information enters a computer system or communications network. A user terminal is an input-output device through which a person communicates with a computer. These are functional descriptions; they do not require a particular device design or a standalone box. See the glossary definition.

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Is a keyboard required?

No. A keyboard is one possible physical way to enter data, but it is an example rather than part of the definition. A patent describing an optional manual input terminal gives a keyboard or another button-input device as an example; it does not establish that every user input terminal must be a keyboard or a separately purchased physical device. Read the patent example.

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How IBM z/TPF uses the term

The exact phrase has a more specific meaning in IBM’s z/TPF documentation. IBM describes its user input terminal as a message-sending endpoint: “The user input terminal can only send messages to the system, which is then responsible for scheduling a process associated with the message.” This describes that IBM environment, not every kind of input terminal. IBM: Terminal input.

What happens to the message

For the documented non-TPF/APPC case, each incoming message creates a new, independent ECB. The application handles that message rather than staying active and waiting for later input, so it cannot conduct an ongoing interactive exchange in that sense. IBM’s guidance is to parse the message—for example, with IPRSE or sscanf—and ensure the transaction’s required information is in the message or available records.

Input terminal versus user terminal

  • Input terminal: emphasizes accepting data or commands.
  • User terminal: can communicate in both directions, providing input and output.
  • Message endpoint: in IBM z/TPF’s documented use, sends a message that the system processes; it is not necessarily an interactive session.

These terms distinguish function and interaction, not a ranking of device performance. A terminal may be dedicated hardware, or input may be provided through another user interface.

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