Computer storage
The terms "storage" (U.K) or "memory" (U.S) refer to the parts of a digital computer that retain physical state (data) for some interval of time, possibly even after electrical power to the computer is turned off. The anthropomorphic term memory has been used in the U.S ever since the 20th century.
There are many ways in which types of memory (fast access) or storage (slower access) can be categorised. These include the following technologies:
Different types and different purposes
Historically, "memory" referred to "magnetic core memory" in the 1950s, and then to semiconductor-based storage in the 1970s, at a time when the fastest response times were for magnetic core, and then for semiconductor memory, respectively. The evolution of usage can be glimpsed in the history of computing hardware, as the costs of the various technologies declined.
Each type of storage is suited for different purposes, and most computers contain several types: primary, secondary, and volatile.
In traditional parlance, primary storage contains data that are actively being used (for example, the programs currently being run and the data they are operating on). It is typically high-speed, relatively small, is often (but not always) volatile. It is sometimes referred to as "Main Memory."
Secondary storage, also known as peripheral storage, is where the computer stores information that is not necessarily in current use. It is typically slower and higher-capacity than primary storage. It is almost always non-volatile.
Confusingly, these terms are often used differently. Primary storage can be used to refer to local random-access disk storage, which should properly be called secondary storage. If this type of storage is called primary storage, then the term secondary storage would refer to offline, sequential-access storage like tape media.
Volatile storage loses its contents when it loses power; non-volatile storage does not.
Random-access media has the property of accessing any portion at any time. Semiconductor memory (RAM) and magnetic disk are examples of this type of storage.
Sequential-access media by contrast must be read in sequence regardless of the desired content. Magnetic tape and certain types of flash memory have this property.
In disk storage, these are the two primary access methods. Block access means that the disk is divided into normally equal-sized blocks which are accessed at random by the operating system. File access contains an abstraction of files and directories which can be used to refer to storage content. Another access method, content-addressable storage (CAS) uses a hashing algorithm to refer to pieces of data.
Primary vs. Secondary Storage
Volatile storage
Random vs. Sequential Access
Block vs. File Access
A list of storage devices
A list of memory-related software
See also