Word Processor (human) or typist, a person hired to type or re-type documents using a business machine such as a
typewriter.
Kurt Vonnegut typed his first drafts, marked them up, and sent them to a typist who lived nearby to be retyped (
A Man Without a Country, 2005)
Word Processor (software) an
application for editing text-based documents. Early word processor apps could be run
batchwise on
microcomputers. Later, apps were created for
interactive usage on
command line terminals. With the advent of
ubiquitous personal computing devices, word processors often have
GUI interfaces and can integrate elaborate style and formatting elements and embedded media such as images, animation, audio, and other documents. Completed documents may be published and distributed digitally, or physically published with a peripherally connected
printer.
Word Processor (standalone device) a business machine with computer components and software dedicated to editing text-based documents. In
the days when the
material and intellectual cost of computers was high, a word processor made the work of producing and maintaining documents easier, which was (as is) sufficient for many types of clerical and media work.
Of the standalone type, a wide variety have come into existence having any combination of possible features:
and some necessary features:
- Editing viewscreen (monochrome or color CRT or LCD)
- Attached keyboard
Standalones may be very small such as the AlphaSmart series which is popular among NaNoWriMo participants because of its lack of extras and limited functionality; or they may be very hefty, somewhat portable but designed to be set on a table for long periods such as the Brother WP -2600Q which had a built-in CRT screen, floppy disk drive, daisy wheel printer, and Tetris.