<s>
An	O
adapter	B-Device
in	O
regard	O
to	O
computing	O
can	O
be	O
either	O
a	O
hardware	B-Architecture
component	O
(	O
device	O
)	O
or	O
software	O
that	O
allows	O
two	O
or	O
more	O
incompatible	O
devices	O
to	O
be	O
linked	O
together	O
for	O
the	O
purpose	O
of	O
transmitting	O
and	O
receiving	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Given	O
an	O
input	O
,	O
an	O
adapter	B-Device
alters	O
it	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
compatible	O
connection	O
between	O
the	O
components	O
of	O
a	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
software	O
and	O
hardware	B-Architecture
adapters	B-Device
are	O
used	O
in	O
many	O
different	O
devices	O
such	O
as	O
mobile	O
phones	O
,	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
servers	O
and	O
telecommunications	O
networks	O
for	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
adapters	B-Device
are	O
built	O
into	O
devices	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
others	O
can	O
be	O
installed	O
on	O
a	O
computer	O
's	O
motherboard	B-Device
or	O
connected	O
as	O
external	B-Device
devices	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
software	O
component	O
adapter	B-Device
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
software	O
that	O
is	O
logically	O
located	O
between	O
two	O
software	O
components	O
and	O
reconciles	O
the	O
differences	O
between	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
many	O
industries	O
,	O
the	O
telecommunication	O
industry	O
needs	O
electrical	O
devices	O
such	O
as	O
adapters	B-Device
to	O
transfer	O
data	O
across	O
long	O
distances	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
analog	B-Protocol
telephone	I-Protocol
adapters	I-Protocol
(	O
ATA	O
)	O
are	O
used	O
by	O
telephone	O
and	O
cable	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
device	O
connects	O
an	O
analog	O
telephone	O
to	O
a	O
computer	O
or	O
network	B-Architecture
by	O
connecting	O
them	O
to	O
digital	O
communication	O
lines	O
,	O
which	O
enables	O
users	O
to	O
make	O
a	O
call	O
via	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
modern	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
almost	O
every	O
peripheral	B-Device
device	I-Device
uses	O
an	O
adapter	B-Device
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
a	O
system	B-General_Concept
bus	I-General_Concept
,	O
for	O
example	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
hardware	B-Architecture
adapters	B-Device
convert	O
between	O
analog	O
and	O
digital	O
signals	O
with	O
A/D	O
or	O
D/A	O
converters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
adapters	B-Device
to	O
interface	O
with	O
a	O
broader	O
range	O
of	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
common	O
example	O
of	O
signal	O
conversion	O
is	O
the	O
sound	B-Device
card	I-Device
,	O
which	O
converts	O
digital	O
audio	O
signals	O
from	O
a	O
computer	O
to	O
analog	O
signals	O
for	O
input	O
to	O
an	O
amplifier	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
host	B-Architecture
adapter	I-Architecture
,	O
host	B-Architecture
controller	I-Architecture
or	O
host	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
adapter	I-Architecture
(	O
HBA	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
circuit	O
board	O
or	O
device	O
which	O
allows	O
peripheral	B-Device
devices	I-Device
(	O
usually	O
internal	O
)	O
to	O
interface	O
with	O
a	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Host	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
adapters	I-Architecture
are	O
used	O
to	O
connect	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
,	O
networks	O
,	O
and	O
USB	B-Protocol
peripherals	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
commonly	O
integrated	O
into	O
motherboards	B-Device
but	O
can	O
also	O
take	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
an	O
expansion	B-Device
card	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
adapter	B-Device
card	I-Device
or	O
expansion	B-Device
card	I-Device
is	O
a	O
circuit	O
board	O
which	O
is	O
plugged	O
into	O
the	O
expansion	B-Device
bus	I-Device
in	O
a	O
computer	O
to	O
add	O
function	O
or	O
resources	O
,	O
in	O
much	O
the	O
same	O
way	O
as	O
a	O
host	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
adapter	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Common	O
adapter	B-Device
cards	I-Device
include	O
video	B-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
network	B-Protocol
cards	I-Protocol
,	O
sound	B-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
and	O
other	O
I/O	B-Device
cards	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
video	B-Device
adapter	I-Device
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
graphics	B-Device
adapter	I-Device
,	O
display	B-Device
adapter	I-Device
,	O
graphics	B-Device
card	I-Device
,	O
or	O
video	B-Device
card	I-Device
)	O
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
expansion	B-Device
card	I-Device
for	O
computers	O
which	O
converts	O
data	O
and	O
generates	O
the	O
electrical	O
signal	O
to	O
display	O
text	O
and	O
graphics	O
on	O
a	O
display	B-Device
device	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bus	B-Architecture
master	I-Architecture
adapters	B-Device
fit	O
in	O
EISA	O
or	O
MCA	O
expansion	B-Device
slots	I-Device
in	O
computers	O
,	O
and	O
use	O
bus	B-Architecture
mastering	I-Architecture
to	O
quickly	O
transfer	O
data	O
by	O
bypassing	O
the	O
CPU	B-Device
and	O
interfacing	B-Protocol
directly	O
with	O
other	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
general	O
purpose	O
interface	O
adapter	B-Device
or	O
GPIA	O
is	O
usually	O
used	O
as	O
an	O
interface	O
between	O
a	O
processing	O
unit	O
and	O
a	O
GPIB	O
(	O
IEEE	O
488	O
)	O
bus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
fax	O
adapter	B-Device
,	O
also	O
called	O
a	O
fax	O
card	O
or	O
fax	O
board	O
,	O
is	O
an	O
internal	O
fax	B-Device
modem	I-Device
which	O
allows	O
a	O
computer	O
to	O
transmit	O
and	O
receive	O
fax	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Network	B-Protocol
adapters	I-Protocol
connect	O
a	O
device	O
to	O
a	O
network	B-Architecture
and	O
enable	O
it	O
to	O
exchange	O
data	O
with	O
other	O
devices	O
on	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Network	B-Protocol
adapter	I-Protocol
usually	O
refers	O
to	O
a	O
piece	O
of	O
computer	B-Architecture
hardware	I-Architecture
typically	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
an	O
Ethernet	B-Protocol
card	I-Protocol
,	O
wireless	O
network	B-Protocol
card	I-Protocol
,	O
USB	B-Protocol
network	B-Protocol
adapter	I-Protocol
,	O
or	O
wireless	O
game	O
adapter	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hardware	B-Architecture
network	B-Protocol
adapters	I-Protocol
which	O
are	O
either	O
wired	O
or	O
wireless	O
can	O
be	O
installed	O
on	O
a	O
motherboard	B-Device
,	O
connecting	O
the	O
computer	O
to	O
a	O
network	B-Architecture
..	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
telecommunications	O
,	O
a	O
terminal	O
adapter	B-Device
or	O
TA	O
acts	O
as	O
an	O
interface	O
between	O
a	O
terminal	O
device	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
computer	O
or	O
telephone	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
communications	O
network	B-Architecture
(	O
typically	O
an	O
integrated	B-Protocol
services	I-Protocol
digital	I-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
channel-to-channel	O
adapter	B-Device
(	O
CTCA	O
)	O
connects	O
two	O
input/output	O
channels	B-Device
in	O
IBM	B-Device
mainframes	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Resource	O
adapters	B-Device
are	O
used	O
to	O
retrieve	O
and	O
route	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
adapter	B-Device
includes	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
adapter	B-Device
commands	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
customize	O
its	O
operation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adapter	B-Device
commands	O
specify	O
different	O
queues	O
and	O
queue	O
managers	O
,	O
specific	O
messages	O
by	O
message	O
ID	O
,	O
specific	O
sets	O
of	O
messages	O
with	O
the	O
same	O
message	O
ID	O
,	O
message	O
descriptors	O
in	O
the	O
data	O
,	O
and	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
resource	O
adapters	B-Device
provided	O
with	O
many	O
integration	O
products	O
enable	O
data	O
transformation	O
and	O
adapter-specific	O
behavior	O
recognition	O
on	O
different	O
systems	O
and	O
data	O
structures	O
.	O
</s>
